infer
[ in-fur ]
/ ɪnˈfɜr /
verb (used with object), in·ferred, in·fer·ring.
to derive by reasoning; conclude or judge from premises or evidence: They inferred his displeasure from his cool tone of voice.
(of facts, circumstances, statements, etc.) to indicate or involve as a conclusion; lead to.
to guess; speculate; surmise.
to hint; imply; suggest.
verb (used without object), in·ferred, in·fer·ring.
to draw a conclusion, as by reasoning.
usage note for infer
Infer has been used to mean “to hint or suggest” since the 16th century by speakers and writers of unquestioned ability and eminence:
The next speaker criticized the proposal, inferring that it was made solely to embarrass the government. Despite its long history, many 20th-century usage guides condemn the use, maintaining that the proper word for the intended sense is
imply and that to use
infer is to lose a valuable distinction between the two words.
Although the claimed distinction has probably existed chiefly in the pronouncements of usage guides, and although the use of infer to mean “to suggest” usually produces no ambiguity, the distinction too has a long history and is widely observed by many speakers and writers.
Although the claimed distinction has probably existed chiefly in the pronouncements of usage guides, and although the use of infer to mean “to suggest” usually produces no ambiguity, the distinction too has a long history and is widely observed by many speakers and writers.
historical usage of infer
The English verb
infer has always been used in logic to mean “to conclude by reasoning or from evidence.” It comes from the Latin verb
inferre “to carry in, enter, introduce, inflict,” composed of the prefix
in- “in, into” and
ferre “to carry, bear.”
Inferre meaning “to conclude, draw an inference, infer” is very rare in Latin, occurring only in the writings of Cicero (106–43 b.c.), Roman statesman and man of letters, and the great, commonsensical Roman rhetorician Quintilian (who lived about a.d. 35–95).
OTHER WORDS FROM infer
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH infer
imply infer (see usage note at the current entry)Words nearby infer
Example sentences from the Web for inferred
British Dictionary definitions for inferred
infer
/ (ɪnˈfɜː) /
verb -fers, -ferring or -ferred (when tr, may take a clause as object)
to conclude (a state of affairs, supposition, etc) by reasoning from evidence; deduce
(tr)
to have or lead to as a necessary or logical consequence; indicate
(tr)
to hint or imply
Derived forms of infer
inferable, inferible, inferrable or inferrible, adjective inferably, adverb inferrer, nounWord Origin for infer
C16: from Latin
inferre to bring into, from
ferre to bear, carry
usage for infer
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?