infer

Infer is defined as to conclude from evidence or assumptions.

(verb)

An example of infer is to assume that a child took the plate of cookies since he was the only one in the room when the cookies went missing.

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See infer in Webster's New World College Dictionary

transitive verb inferred, inferring

  1. Obsolete to bring on or about; cause; induce
  2. to conclude or decide from something known or assumed; derive by reasoning; draw as a conclusion
    1. to lead to as a conclusion; indicate
    2. to indicate indirectly; imply: in this sense, still sometimes regarded as a loose usage

Origin: L inferre, to bring or carry in, infer < in-, in + ferre, to carry, bear

intransitive verb

to draw inferences

Related Forms:

See infer in American Heritage Dictionary 4

verb in·ferred, in·fer·ring, in·fers
verb, transitive
  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.
verb, intransitive
To draw inferences.

Origin:

Origin: Latin īnferre, to bring in, adduce

Origin: : in-, in; see in-2

Origin: + ferre, to bear; see bher-1 in Indo-European roots

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Related Forms:

  • in·ferˈa·ble adjective
  • in·ferˈa·bly adverb
  • in·ferˈrer noun
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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