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

• misinference
  noun
• preinference
  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

Both are useful for inference, the next phase of AI compute needs.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 17, 2026

Recent entrant Cerebras, which launched the first of its giant chips for both training and inference only in 2019, raised $5.55 billion in its IPO on Thursday, and its shares more than doubled immediately.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 17, 2026

The company’s chips are built to support inference, or the process of running artificial-intelligence models after training, which is increasingly a major focus for companies deploying applications.

From MarketWatch • May 14, 2026

The company’s chips are built to support inference, or the process of running artificial intelligence models after training, which is increasingly a major focus for companies deploying applications.

From MarketWatch • May 14, 2026

That’s why settlements, and by inference tribes, began to proliferate in the Fertile Crescent at that time, when climate changes and improved technology combined to permit abundant harvests of wild cereals.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

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