infer

infer

deduce, reason, guess; draw a conclusion: They inferred her dislike from her cold reply.

Not to be confused with:

imply – signify or mean; to suggest: Her words imply a lack of caring.

Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

in·fer

 (ĭn-fûr′)

v. in·ferred, in·fer·ring, in·fers

v.tr.

1. To conclude from evidence or by reasoning: "For many years the cerebral localization of all higher cognitive processes could be inferred only from the effects of brain injuries on the people who survived them" (Sally E. Shaywitz).

2. To involve by logical necessity; entail: "Socrates argued that a statue inferred the existence of a sculptor" (Academy).

3. (Usage Problem) To indicate indirectly; imply.

v.intr.

To draw inferences.

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

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in·fer′a·ble adj.

in·fer′a·bly adv.

in·fer′rer n.

Usage Note: Infer is sometimes confused with imply, but the distinction careful writers make between these words 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 consulted with new financial advisers, since her old advisers favored tax reductions.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

infer

(ɪnˈfɜː)

vb (when tr, may take a clause as object) , -fers, -ferring or -ferred

1. to conclude (a state of affairs, supposition, etc) by reasoning from evidence; deduce

2. (tr) to have or lead to as a necessary or logical consequence; indicate

3. (tr) to hint or imply

[C16: from Latin inferre to bring into, from ferre to bear, carry]

inˈferable, inˈferible, inˈferrable, inˈferrible adj

inˈferably adv

inˈferrer n

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 (sense 1) means 'to suggest, to insinuate' and is normally followed by a clause: are you implying that I was responsible for the mistake?

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

in•fer

(ɪnˈfɜr)

v. -ferred, -fer•ring. v.t.

1. to derive by reasoning; conclude or judge from premises or evidence.

2. to guess; speculate; surmise.

3. (of facts, circumstances, statements, etc.) to indicate or involve as a conclusion; lead to.

4. to hint; imply; suggest.

v.i.

5. to draw a conclusion, as by reasoning.

[1520–30; < Medieval Latin inferre to imply, Latin: to bring in, advance =in- in-² + ferre to bring, carry, bear¹]

in•fer′a•ble, in•fer′ri•ble, adj.

in•fer′a•bly, adv.

in•fer′rer, n.

usage: Many usage guides condemn infer when used to mean “to hint or suggest,” as in The next speaker rejected the proposal, inferring that it was made solely to embarrass the government, holding the position that the proper word for this meaning is imply, and that to use infer for it is to lose a valuable distinction. Many speakers and writers observe this claimed distinction scrupulously. Nevertheless, from its earliest appearance in English infer has had the sense given in definition 3 above, a meaning that overlaps with the second definition of imply when the subject is a condition, circumstance, or the like that leads inevitably to a certain conclusion or point.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

infer

, imply - Infer means "to deduce, reason," and imply means "to hint at, suggest."

See also related terms for hint.

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imply, infer - A speaker or writer implies, a hearer or reader infers; implications are incorporated in statements, while inferences are deduced from statements. Imply means "suggest indirectly that something is true," while infer means "conclude or deduce something is true"; furthermore, to imply is to suggest or throw out a suggestion, while to infer is to include or take in a suggestion.

See also related terms for imply.

Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.

imply

– infer

1. 'imply'

If you imply that something is the case, you suggest that it is the case without actually saying so.

Somehow he implied that he was the one who had done all the work.

Her tone implied that her time and her patience were limited.

2. 'infer'

If you infer that something is the case, you decide that it is the case on the basis of the information that you have.

I inferred from what she said that you have not been well.

It is only from doing experiments that cause-and-effect relationships can be inferred.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

infer

Past participle: inferred
Gerund: inferring

Imperative

infer

infer

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

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"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

infer

verb deduce, understand, gather, conclude, derive, presume, conjecture, surmise, read between the lines, put two and two together I inferred from what she said that you have not been well.

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?

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

infer

verb

1. To arrive at (a conclusion) from evidence or reasoning:

conclude, deduce, deduct, draw, gather, judge, understand.

2. To draw an inference on the basis of inconclusive evidence or insufficient information:

conjecture, guess, speculate, suppose, surmise.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

يَسْتَدِل، يَسْتَنْتِج

usouditvyvozovat

slutte

folgernschließen

συμπεραίνω

argüirinferir

concluredéduire

álykta

dedurredesumareinferireinsinuarearguire

padaryti išvadą

secināt

trekke slutninger

sonucuna varmak

推断

infer

[ɪnˈfɜːʳ] VT

1. (= deduce) → inferir, deducir (from de)

2. (= imply) → insinuar
what are you inferring? → ¿qué estás insinuando?

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

infer

[ɪnˈfɜː^r] vt

(= deduce) to infer sth from sth → déduire qch de qch
to infer that ... → déduire que ...

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

infer

vt

(= deduce) → schließen, folgern (from aus); nothing can be inferred from this → daraus kann man nichts schließen or folgern

(= imply) → andeuten, zu verstehen geben

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

infer

[ɪnˈfɜːʳ] vt to infer (from) → dedurre (da)

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

infer

(inˈfəː) – past tense, past participle inˈferred – verb

to judge (from facts or evidence). I inferred from your silence that you were angry. aflei يَسْتَدِل، يَسْتَنْتِج заключвам inferir vyvozovat folgern slutte συμπεραίνω, συνάγωinferir, deducir järeldama برداشت کردن päätellä déduire לְהַסִיק अनुमानकरना zaključivati, zaključiti következtet menilai álykta dedurre 推論する 추론하다 padaryti išvadą secināt membuat kesimpulan afleidentrekke slutninger, utlede (wy)wnioskować واخیستل inferir a deduce делать вывод usúdiť sklepati zaključiti sluta sig till ลงความคิดเห็น sonucuna varmak 推斷 робити висновок (з чого) نتیجہ اخز کرنا suy luận 推断

ˈinference noun

afleiding إسْتِدْلال، إسْتِنْتاج извод inferência závěr, dedukce die Schlußfolgerung slutning; følgeslutning συμπέρασμαinferencia, deducción järeldus استنباط päättely déduction הַסָקַת מַסקָנָה अनुमान zaključak következtetés penilaian ályktun deduzione 推論 추론 išvada secinājums; slēdziens membuat kesimpulan gevolgtrekkingkonklusjon, slutning, antakelsewniosek استنباط inferência deducţie вывод uzáver, domnienka sklep zaključivanje slutledning, slutsats การลงความเห็น sonuç/anlam (çıkarma) 推斷 висновок نتیجہ sự suy luận 推论

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.