Infer

Pronunciation

Origin

From Latin inferō.

Full definition of infer

Verb

1. (obsolete) To cause, inflict (something) upon or to someone. 16th-18th c.
• 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, VI.8:faire Serena … fled fast away, afeard
  Of villany to be to her inferd ….
2. (obsolete) To introduce (a subject) in speaking, writing etc.; to bring in. 16th–18th c.
• ShakespeareFull well hath Clifford played the orator,
  Inferring arguments of mighty force.
3. (transitive) To introduce (something) as a reasoned conclusion; to conclude by reasoning or deduction, as from premises or evidence. from 16th c.
• 2010, "Keep calm, but don't carry on", The Economist, 7 Oct 2010:It is dangerous to infer too much from martial bluster in British politics: at the first hint of trouble, channelling Churchill is a default tactic for beleaguered leaders of all sorts.
4. (transitive) To lead to (something) as a consequence; to imply. (Now often considered incorrect, especially with a person as subject.) from 16th c.
• 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, II.3:These and a thousand like propositions, which concurre in this purpose, do evidently inferre some thing beyond patient expecting of death it selfe to be suffered in this life ....
5. (obsolete) To show; to manifest; to prove.
• ShakespeareThis doth infer the zeal I had to see him.
• Sir Thomas MoreThe first part is not the proof of the second, but rather contrariwise, the second inferreth well the first.

Usage notes

There are two ways in which the word "infer" is sometimes used as if it meant "imply". "Implication" is done by a person when making a "statement", whereas "inference" is done to a proposition after it had already been made or assumed. Secondly, the word "infer" can sometimes be used to mean "allude" or "express" in a suggestive manner rather than as a direct "statement". Using the word "infer" in this sense is now generally considered incorrect. http://www.askoxford.com/betterwriting/classicerrors/confused/?view=uk http://englishplus.com/grammar/00000232.htm

Synonyms

• assume, conclude, deduce, construe

Related terms

• inferable
• inference
• -ferous (-iferous)

Anagrams

• finer