infer

in·fer  (n-fûr)

v. in·ferred, in·fer·ring, in·fers

v.tr.

1. To conclude from evidence or premises.

2. To reason from circumstance; surmise: We can infer that his motive in publishing the diary was less than honorable.

3. To lead to as a consequence or conclusion: "Socrates argued that a statue inferred the existence of a sculptor" Academy.

4. To hint; imply.

v.intr.

To draw inferences.

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[Latin nferre, to bring in, adduce : in-, in; see in-² + ferre, to bear; see bher-¹ in Indo-European roots.]

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in·fera·ble adj.

in·fera·bly adv.

in·ferrer n.

Usage Note: Infer is sometimes confused with imply, but the distinction is a useful one. When we say that a speaker or sentence implies something, we mean that it is conveyed or suggested without being stated outright: When the mayor said that she would not rule out a business tax increase, she implied (not inferred) that some taxes might be raised. Inference, on the other hand, is the activity performed by a reader or interpreter in drawing conclusions that are not explicit in what is said: When the mayor said that she would not rule out a tax increase, we inferred that she had been consulting with some new financial advisers, since her old advisers were in favor of tax reductions.

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infer

Verb

[-ferring, -ferred]

1. to conclude by reasoning from evidence; deduce

2. Not standard to imply or suggest [Latin inferre to bring into]

USAGE: The use of infer to mean imply is common in both speech and writing, but is regarded by many people as incorrect.

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	infer - reason by deduction; establish by deduction deduce, derive, deduct logical system, system of logic, logic - a system of reasoning extrapolate - gain knowledge of (an area not known or experienced) by extrapolating conclude, reason, reason out - decide by reasoning; draw or come to a conclusion; "We reasoned that it was cheaper to rent than to buy a house" surmise - infer from incomplete evidence elicit - derive by reason; "elicit a solution"
	2.	infer - draw from specific cases for more general cases extrapolate, generalize, generalise conclude, reason, reason out - decide by reasoning; draw or come to a conclusion; "We reasoned that it was cheaper to rent than to buy a house" overgeneralise, overgeneralize - draw too general a conclusion; "It is dangerous to overgeneralize" universalise, universalize - make universal; "This author's stories universalize old themes"
	3.	infer - conclude by reasoning; in logic deduce conclude, reason, reason out - decide by reasoning; draw or come to a conclusion; "We reasoned that it was cheaper to rent than to buy a house"
	4.	infer - guess correctly; solve by guessing; "He guessed the right number of beans in the jar and won the prize" guess figure out, puzzle out, solve, lick, work out, work - find the solution to (a problem or question) or understand the meaning of; "did you solve the problem?"; "Work out your problems with the boss"; "this unpleasant situation isn't going to work itself out"; "did you get it?"; "Did you get my meaning?"; "He could not work the math problem" tell - discern or comprehend; "He could tell that she was unhappy"
	5.	infer - believe to be the case; "I understand you have no previous experience?" understand believe - accept as true; take to be true; "I believed his report"; "We didn't believe his stories from the War"; "She believes in spirits"

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infer

verb deduce, understand, gather, conclude, derive, presume, conjecture, surmise, read between the lines, put two and two together

USAGE The use of infer to mean imply is becoming more and more common in both speech and writing. There is nevertheless a useful distinction between the two which many people would be in favour of maintaining. To infer means 'to deduce', and is used in the construction 'to infer something from something': I inferred from what she said that she had not been well. To imply means `to suggest, to insinuate' and is normally followed by a clause: are you implying that I was responsible for the mistake?

Translations

infer [ɪnˈfəːʳ] vt → deducir, inferir;

to infer (from) → inferir (de), deducir (de)

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infer [ɪnˈfəːʳ] vt to infer (from) → conclure (de), déduire (de)

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infer [ɪnˈfəːʳ] vt → schließen;

(imply) → andeuten

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infer [ɪnˈfəːʳ] vt to infer (from) → dedurre (da), concludere (da)