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Which activity often requires inference?

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inference

American  

[in-fer-uhns, -fruhns] / ˈɪn fər əns, -frəns /

noun

• inferences
  plural

1. 

   the act or process of inferring.

2. something that is inferred.

   to make rash inferences.

3. Logic.

   1. the process of deriving the strict logical consequences of assumed premises.

   2. the process of arriving at some conclusion that, though it is not logically derivable from the assumed premises, possesses some degree of probability relative to the premises.

   3. a proposition reached by a process of inference.

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inference British  

/ ˈɪnfərəns, -frəns /

noun

1. the act or process of inferring

2. an inferred conclusion, deduction, etc

3. any process of reasoning from premises to a conclusion

4. logic the specific mode of reasoning used See also deduction induction

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inference Cultural  

1. In logic, the deriving of one idea from another. Inference can proceed through either induction or deduction.

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inference Idioms  

1. see draw an inference.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• misinference
  noun
• preinference
  noun
• superinference
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• inferences
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of inference

From the Medieval Latin word inferentia, dating back to 1585–95. See infer, -ence

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Explanation

An inference is an idea or conclusion that's drawn from evidence and reasoning. An inference is an educated guess. We learn about some things by experiencing them first-hand, but we gain other knowledge by inference — the process of inferring things based on what is already known. When you make an inference, you're reading between the lines or just looking carefully at the facts and coming to conclusions. You can also make faulty inferences. If you hear a person's weight is 250 pounds, you might make the inference that they're overweight. But what if they're seven feet tall?

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

inference inferences

But that is an unmistakable inference from constitutional structure.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Because some of the inference process takes place through diffraction, important parameters of the optical model are effectively embedded within the hardware.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026

Crusoe expects a majority of its cloud inference computing to run out of the smaller data centers it is manufacturing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

He noted that growth drivers such as inference, enterprise AI and physical AI are still ahead, and that major AI-infrastructure companies have signaled that demand will likely continue outpacing supply into at least next year.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

“Your inference is that he left a line behind, then replaced it with that new one—exhibit B, right there in your hand—replaced it when he got back to the docks.”

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson

"By combining the model with what we see on the surface, we can make inferences about Ariel's past eccentricity and how thick the ocean might have been."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026

Moreover, one need not rely on inferences from data.

From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026

They can analyze data and make predictive inferences.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026

However, if a tenant is late or misses a payment, it shows up as “no data available” on a credit report, which Dempsey said lenders and future landlords can draw negative inferences from.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 2026

It refers to a situation that the writer is uncertain about, and it invites the reader to draw inferences or make predictions about that situation.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

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Related Words

• assumption
• conjecture
• interpretation
• presumption
• reasoning
• supposition

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