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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

Although Kimi K3, the open-weight model developed by Chinese startup Moonshot AI, remains “ahead on raw capability,” Beam holds an advantage with efficiency at inference time, according to Reflection.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

They perform additional calculations through the diffraction of light, meaning they do not require additional electrical power while the system is performing an inference.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026

But serving those same models to users, a process known as inference, can often be done with considerably smaller amounts of chips, Lochmiller said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 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

“Sure,” Shanti said, picking up on the inference.

From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray

"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

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

And so, in consequence, there are infinite habitable worlds; what hinders? ... these and suchlike insolent and bold attempts, prodigious paradoxes, inferences must needs follow, if it once be granted which ...

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

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Related Words

• assumption
• conjecture
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• presumption
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