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.
INTRANSITIVE VERB:
To draw inferences.
ETYMOLOGY:
Latin nferre, to bring in, adduce : in-, in; see in–2 + ferre, to bear; see bher-1 in Appendix I.
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.
n-fûr
nferre, to bring in, adduce : in-, in; see in–2 + ferre, to bear; see bher-1 in Appendix I.
