inference

[ in-fer-uhns, -fruhns ]

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.

inference

/ 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

inference

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

Other Words From

• mis·infer·ence noun
• pre·infer·ence noun
• super·infer·ence noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of inference¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

see draw an inference .

Example Sentences

The value lies in the inferences drawn from your interactions, which are also stored on your phone—but that data does not belong to you.

From MIT Technology Review

To humans this is basic common sense, but algorithms have a hard time making causal inferences, especially without a large dataset or in a different context than the one they were trained in.

From Singularity Hub 

We’re talking about a small-scale research finding that was the truth in that finding, but because of the mechanics of statistical inference, it just won’t be right.

From Freakonomics

You can also find this inference on the web and at events each year around the world.

From MIT Technology Review

If a device is frequenting an NFL stadium, for example, you can infer that the user is a football fan, which allows a host of other inferences to form.

From Search Engine Watch

The inference that the child was treated as an equal in the community is unwarranted.

From The Daily Beast

This is an example of abductive reasoning: an inference is made based on known facts, in an effort to explain them.

From The Daily Beast

The reasoning task requires the mice to make an inference by exclusion.

From The Daily Beast

Sen. Claire McCaskill  said the “innuendo and inference” reminded her of Joe McCarthy.

From The Daily Beast

The inference of “it” is that Burns himself wandered a painful distance down a suicidal path after being bullied in school.

From The Daily Beast

The inference which ought to have been drawn from these facts was that the prohibitory system was absurd.

From Project Gutenberg

No inference can be drawn from any comparisons between sexual crime of adults and sexual misbehaviour among children.

From Project Gutenberg

She evidently made up her mind that logic was a fallacious mode of inference, and determined to abandon it for the future.

From Project Gutenberg

Mrs. Stanley did not see her way clear to comment either upon the fact or the inference.

From Project Gutenberg

I beg you to believe me that there has been nothing between your wife and myself that could justify the inference you have drawn.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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