infer - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

in·fer

Audio Help [in-fur] Pronunciation Key verb, -ferred, -fer·ring.

–verb (used with object)

1.	to derive by reasoning; conclude or judge from premises or evidence: They inferred his displeasure from his cool tone of voice.

2.	(of facts, circumstances, statements, etc.) to indicate or involve as a conclusion; lead to.

3.	to guess; speculate; surmise.

4.	to hint; imply; suggest.

–verb (used without object)

5.	to draw a conclusion, as by reasoning.

[Origin: 1520–30; < L inferre, equiv. to in- in-² + ferre to bring, carry, bear¹

]

—Related forms

in·fer·a·ble, in·fer·i·ble, in·fer·ri·ble, adjective

in·fer·a·bly, adverb

in·fer·rer, noun

—Synonyms 1. 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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
infer

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

in·fer Audio Help   (ĭn-fûr') Pronunciation Key
v.   in·ferred, in·fer·ring, in·fers

v.   tr.

To conclude from evidence or premises.
To reason from circumstance; surmise: We can infer that his motive in publishing the diary was less than honorable.
To lead to as a consequence or conclusion: "Socrates argued that a statue inferred the existence of a sculptor" (Academy).
To hint; imply.

v. intr.
To draw inferences.

[Latin īnferre, to bring in, adduce : in-, in; see in-² + ferre, to bear; see bher-¹ in Indo-European roots.]

in·fer'a·ble adj., in·fer'a·bly adv., in·fer'rer n.

Usage Note: Infer is sometimes confused with imply, but the distinction is a useful one. When we say that a speaker or sentence implies something, we mean that it is conveyed or suggested without being stated outright: When the mayor said that she would not rule out a business tax increase, she implied (not inferred) that some taxes might be raised. Inference, on the other hand, is the activity performed by a reader or interpreter in drawing conclusions that are not explicit in what is said: When the mayor said that she would not rule out a tax increase, we inferred that she had been consulting with some new financial advisers, since her old advisers were in favor of tax reductions.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
infer

1526, from L. inferre "bring into, cause," from in- "in" + ferre "carry, bear," from PIE *bher- "to bear, to carry, to take" (cf. Skt. bharati "carries;" Avestan baraiti "carries;" O.Pers. barantiy "they carry;" Armenian berem "I carry;" Gk. pherein "to carry;" O.Ir. beru/berim "I catch, I bring forth;" Goth. bairan "to carry;" O.E., O.H.G. beran, O.N. bera "barrow;" O.C.S. birati "to take;" Rus. brat' "to take," bremya "a burden"). Sense of "draw a conclusion" is first attested 1529.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

infer
verb
1.	reason by deduction; establish by deduction [syn: deduce]
2.	draw from specific cases for more general cases [syn: generalize]
3.	conclude by reasoning; in logic [syn: deduce]
4.	guess correctly; solve by guessing; "He guessed the right number of beans in the jar and won the prize" [syn: guess]
5.	believe to be the case; "I understand you have no previous experience?" [syn: understand]

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
infer [inˈfəː] verb — past tense, past participle inˈferred

to judge (from facts or evidence)
Example: I inferred from your silence that you were angry.

Arabic:	يَسْتَدِل، يَسْتَنْتِج
Chinese (Simplified):	推断
Chinese (Traditional):	推斷
Czech:	vyvozovat
Danish:	slutte
Dutch:	afleiden
Estonian:	järeldama
Finnish:	päätellä
French:	déduire
German:	folgern
Greek:	συμπεραίνω, συνάγω
Hungarian:	következtet

Icelandic:	álykta
Italian:	dedurre
Japanese:	推論する
Korean:	추측하다
Lithuanian:	padaryti išvadą
Polish:	(wy)wnioskować
Portuguese (Brazil):	inferir
Portuguese (Portugal):	inferir
Romanian:	a deduce
Russian:	делать вывод
Spanish:	inferir, deducir
Turkish:	sonucuna varmak

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Infer

Il*la"tion\, n. [L. illatio, fr. illatus, used as p. p. of inferre to carry or bring in, but from a different root: cf. F. illation. See 1st In-, and Tolerate, and cf. Infer.] The act or process of inferring from premises or reasons; perception of the connection between ideas; that which is inferred; inference; deduction; conclusion.

Fraudulent deductions or inconsequent illations from a false conception of things. --Sir T. Browne.

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