Trivia Time

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

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

See Examples For:

inference inferences

Not if you’re a veteran superhero trying to ignore the inference that your time is up.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

"So the inference that the Met didn't try on that case is just not true, the Met tried," he said.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

“Between inference and engineering requirements, it’s driving longer lifespans for even older GPUs,” McBee said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Every time a company trains a model, deploys an AI agent or runs inference through its cloud, Amazon makes money.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 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

In June, passenger demand fell 1.7% globally, or 0.6% excluding the Middle East, according to the International Air Transport Association, although Nastro said it’s difficult to draw inferences about U.S. trends from global data.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026

They can analyze data and make predictive inferences.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026

Hawley has a penchant for poetic concepts, literary references, political inferences and out-of-the-mainstream ideas that may not always make perfect sense, but his ambition shows through.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2025

“Kids often make unfortunate inferences about money and inequality if parents don't provide them with accurate information,” said Wenner Moyer.

From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2024

Every waking minute that we are in the presence of someone, we come up with a constant stream of predictions and inferences about what that person is thinking and feeling.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

Related Words

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