infer
[in-fur]
- to derive by reasoning; conclude or judge from premises or evidence: They inferred his displeasure from his cool tone of voice.
- (of facts, circumstances, statements, etc.) to indicate or involve as a conclusion; lead to.
- to guess; speculate; surmise.
- to hint; imply; suggest.
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- to draw a conclusion, as by reasoning.
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Origin of infer
Synonyms
See more synonyms for infer on Thesaurus.com1. deduce, reason, guess.
Usage note
Infer has been used to mean “to hint or suggest” since the 16th century by speakers and writers of unquestioned ability and eminence: The next speaker criticized the proposal, inferring that it was made solely to embarrass the government. Despite its long history, many 20th-century usage guides condemn the use, maintaining that the proper word for the intended sense is imply and that to use infer is to lose a valuable distinction between the two words.
Although the claimed distinction has probably existed chiefly in the pronouncements of usage guides, and although the use of infer to mean “to suggest” usually produces no ambiguity, the distinction too has a long history and is widely observed by many speakers and writers.
Although the claimed distinction has probably existed chiefly in the pronouncements of usage guides, and although the use of infer to mean “to suggest” usually produces no ambiguity, the distinction too has a long history and is widely observed by many speakers and writers.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for inferring
Contemporary Examples
Kelly began the segment calling Nolan a “self radicalized” Muslim, inferring that his horrific crime was connected to Islam.
Historical Examples
"Mad as a hatter," said Grant, inferring the joke was on Pierre.
Lords of the NorthA. C. Laut
There is always danger of inferring more than the facts warrant.
Elementary Guide to Literary CriticismF. V. N. Painter
He is not generalizing; he is inferring a particular from particulars.
In fact the more he read his letter over, the more he got to inferring it himself.
The American ClaimantMark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
He is not generalising; he is inferring a particular from particulars.
A Logic Of FactsGeorge Jacob Holyoake
infer
- to conclude (a state of affairs, supposition, etc) by reasoning from evidence; deduce
- (tr) to have or lead to as a necessary or logical consequence; indicate
- (tr) to hint or imply
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Word Origin
C16: from Latin inferre to bring into, from ferre to bear, carry
usage
The use of infer to mean imply is becoming more and more common in both speech and writing. There is nevertheless a useful distinction between the two which many people would be in favour of maintaining. To infer means `to deduce', and is used in the construction to infer something from something : I inferred from what she said that she had not been well . To imply (sense 1) means `to suggest, to insinuate' and is normally followed by a clause: are you implying that I was responsible for the mistake?
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for inferring
infer
v.
1520s, from Latin inferre "bring into, carry in; deduce, infer, conclude, draw an inference; bring against," from in- "in" (see in- (2)) + ferre "carry, bear," from PIE *bher- (1) "to bear, to carry, to take" (cf. Sanskrit bharati "carries;" Avestan baraiti "carries;" Old Persian barantiy "they carry;" Armenian berem "I carry;" Greek pherein "to carry;" Old Irish beru/berim "I catch, I bring forth;" Gothic bairan "to carry;" Old English and Old High German beran, Old Norse bera "barrow;" Old Church Slavonic birati "to take;" Russian brat' "to take," bremya "a burden"). Sense of "draw a conclusion" is first attested 1520s.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper