inference

American  

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

noun

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

• preinference
  noun
• misinference
  noun
• superinference
  noun

Etymology

Origin of inference

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

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

Part of that money is to churn out more custom-made chips for AI training and inference.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 31, 2026

The inference trend is being supercharged by the rise of AI agents, software that can use AI models to complete a complex series of tasks from a simple conversational prompt.

From Barron's • May 29, 2026

Demand for traditional servers is also surging as agentic AI and inference workloads rely heavily on central processing units to run.

From MarketWatch • May 28, 2026

AI demand boosted by agentic AI penetration, enterprise inference adoption, broader rack-scale deployments, and higher-value storage solutions are all expected to support the segment’s top line, Au notes.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026

“Would you give me the time?” said the sergeant, addressing himself to Mr. Pumblechook, as to a man whose appreciative powers justified the inference that he was equal to the time.

From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens

Related Words

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