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 (US):

    (file)

• 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, […]”, 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

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 criticized prescriptively. [1] [2]

Related terms

• -ferous (-iferous)
• illation
• illative
• inferable
• inference

 

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
• Maori: 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: заключить (ru) pf (zaključitʹ), сделать заключение (sdelatʹ zaključenije), сделать вывод (sdelatʹ vyvod), вывести (ru) pf (vyvesti)
• Spanish: inferir (es)
• Swedish: sluta sig till
• 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: предполагать (ru) impf (predpolagatʹ), предположить (ru) pf (predpoložitʹ), догадываться (ru) impf (dogadyvatʹsja), догадаться (ru) pf (dogadatʹsja)
• 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)
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} concludere (it), ^{(please verify)} dedurre (it)
• Icelandic: ^{(please verify)} álykta (1), að gefa í skyn (2)
• Japanese: ^{(please verify)} 推量する
• Maori: ^{(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)
• Russian: ^{(please verify)} заключать (ru) impf (zaključatʹ), ^{(please verify)} делать вывод (ru) (delatʹ vyvod)
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} argüir (es), ^{(please verify)} inferir (es)

Anagrams

• -frine, Finer, finer, frine

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈin.fer/, [ˈĩːfɛr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈin.fer/, [ˈiɱfer]

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.