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Definition of "infer" []

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

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "infer" in a sentence
  • "Who decides whether it's acceptable to end a sentence with a preposition or to use the word "infer" as a synonym for "imply"?"
  • "As one might infer from the title, the US President is involved."
  • "It is simpleminded to infer from the rate at which intermarriage was increasing in one decade and the rate it was increasing in the subsequent decade that a fall off must reflect an unfavorable “trend” with respect to progress toward greater interracial harmony."