infer

English

Etymology

From Latin inferō, from Latin in- (“in, at, on; into”) + Latin ferō (“bear, carry; suffer”) (cognate to Old English beran, whence English bear), from Proto-Italic *ferō, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰéreti (“to bear, carry”), from the root *bʰer-. Literally “carry forward”, equivalent to “bear in”, as in concluding from a premise. Doublet of inbear.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General Australian) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈfɜː/
• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈfɝ/

  • Audio (Southern California):

    (file)

• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈfɛr/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ənˈføː/
• (Liverpool, fair–fur merger) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈfeː/
• (Humberside, Teesside, fair–fur merger) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈfɛː/
• (Lancashire, fair–fur merger) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈfɜː(ɹ)/
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)

Verb

infer (third-person singular simple present infers, present participle inferring, simple past and past participle inferred)

1. (transitive) To introduce (something) as a reasoned conclusion; to conclude by reasoning or deduction, as from premises or evidence. [from 16th c.]

   Synonyms: conclude, deduce, educe, construe

   • 2010 October 7, “Keep calm, but don't carry on”, in The Economist:

     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.

2. (transitive, often proscribed) To lead to (something) as a consequence; to imply. [from 16th c.]

   Synonyms: imply, suggest, entail

   • a. 1535, Thomas More, letter to Fryth

     the fyrste parte is not the proofe of the second. but rather contrarywyse the seconde inferreth well yͤ fyrst.

   • c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene v]:

     This doth infer the zeal I had to see him.

   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 3, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:

     These and a thousand like propositions, which concurre in this purpose, do evidently inferre [translating sonnent] some thing beyond patient expecting of death it selfe to be suffered in this life […].

3. (obsolete) To cause, inflict (something) upon or to someone. [16th–18th c.]
   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto VIII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

     faire Serena […] fled fast away, afeard / Of villany to be to her inferd […].

4. (obsolete) To introduce (a subject) in speaking, writing etc.; to bring in, to adduce. [16th–18th c.]
   • c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:

     Full well hath Clifford played the orator, / Inferring arguments of mighty force.

Usage notes

The words "infer" and "imply" are duals: a speaker or writer may imply a proposition by their statement, whereas a listener may infer a proposition from the statement. For example: Alice asks, "Are you going to go for a walk today?" Bob replies, "It looks like rain," implying that he won't go out. Alice infers from Bob's response that he won't go out. Here Bob has made an implication; Alice has made an inference.

The word "infer" is sometimes used to mean "imply" or "suggest". For example, after Bob says "It looks like rain," Alice might ask for clarification by saying, "What are you inferring?" (rather than the more proper "What are you implying?"). This usage is generally viewed as incorrect. [1] [2]

Derived terms

• inferability
• inferable
• inference
• inferrable
• inferral
• inferrer
• misinfer
• reinfer
• subinfer
• uninferant

Related terms

• -ferous (-iferous)
• illation
• illative

Translations

to introduce (something) as a reasoned conclusion; to conclude by reasoning or deduction, as from premises or evidence

• Bulgarian: заключавам (bg) (zaključavam)
• Catalan: inferir (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 推斷 / 推断 (zh) (tuīduàn)

• Czech: vyvodit
• Dutch: concluderen (nl)
• Finnish: päätellä (fi), tehdä johtopäätös
• French: déduire (fr), inférer (fr)
• German: schlussfolgern (de), folgern (de), schließen (de), Schlüsse ziehen
• Greek: συμπεραίνω (el) (symperaíno)
• Hungarian: következtet (hu), kikövetkeztet (hu), (rare) dedukál
• Italian: inferire (it), dedurre (it), concludere (it), infliggere (it)
• Latin: coniecto
• Māori: hīkaro
• Occitan: inferir (oc), dedusir, deduire (oc), dedurre
• Polish: wnioskować (pl) impf, wywnioskować (pl) pf, dedukować impf, wydedukować pf
• Portuguese: inferir (pt)
• Romanian: motiva (ro), deduce (ro), infera (ro)
• Russian: заключи́ть (ru) pf (zaključítʹ), сде́лать заключе́ние pf (sdélatʹ zaključénije), сде́лать вы́вод pf (sdélatʹ vývod), вы́вести (ru) pf (vývesti)
• Spanish: inferir (es)
• Swedish: sluta sig till
• Thai: อนุมาน (th)
• Turkish: anlam çıkarmak (tr), anlamına gelmek (tr), anlamak (tr), mana çıkarmak (tr), manasına gelmek, sonucunu çıkarmak
• Ukrainian: робити висновок (robyty vysnovok)
• Welsh: enwytho

to lead to as a consequence — see also imply

• Bulgarian: загатвам (bg) (zagatvam)
• Czech: dopadnout (cs)
• Finnish: johtaa (fi), selittää (fi)
• German: zur Folge haben
• Greek: υπονοώ (el) (yponoó), υπαινίσσομαι (el) (ypainíssomai)
• Italian: implicare (it)
• Russian: предполага́ть (ru) impf (predpolagátʹ), предположи́ть (ru) pf (predpoložítʹ), дога́дываться (ru) impf (dogádyvatʹsja), догада́ться (ru) pf (dogadátʹsja)
• Spanish: inferir (es)
• Welsh: enwytho

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Bulgarian: ^{(please verify)} правя извод (pravja izvod)
• Czech: ^{(please verify)} vyvodit, ^{(please verify)} usoudit, ^{(please verify)} odvodit pf
• French: ^{(please verify)} déduire (fr)
• German: ^{(please verify)} schließen (de), ^{(please verify)} schlussfolgern (de)
• Greek: ^{(please verify)} συμπεραίνω (el) (symperaíno)
• Icelandic: ^{(please verify)} álykta (1), að gefa í skyn (2)
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} concludere (it), ^{(please verify)} dedurre (it)
• Japanese: ^{(please verify)} 推量する
• Māori: ^{(please verify)} hīkaro
• Norwegian: ^{(please verify)} utlede, ^{(please verify)} konkludere (no), ^{(please verify)} slutte (no) (1), ^{(please verify)} anta (no), ^{(please verify)} tenke (no), ^{(please verify)} spekulere (2)
• Occitan: ^{(please verify)} inferir (oc), ^{(please verify)} dedusir
• Portuguese: ^{(please verify)} inferir (pt)
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} conchide (ro), ^{(please verify)} concluziona (ro), ^{(please verify)} infera (ro)

Anagrams

• -frine, Finer, finer, frine

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈĩː.fɛr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈiɱ.fer]

Verb

īnfer

1. second-person singular present active imperative of īnferō

References

• “infer”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “infer”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.