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Webster 1913 Edition

Infer

In-fer′

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Inferred
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Inferring
.]
[L.
inferre
to bring into, bring forward, occasion, infer; pref.
in-
in +
ferre
to carry, bring: cf. F.
inférer
. See 1 st
Bear
.]
1.
To bring on; to induce; to occasion.
[Obs.]
Harvey.
2.
To offer, as violence.
[Obs.]
Spenser.
3.
To bring forward, or employ as an argument; to adduce; to allege; to offer.
[Obs.]
Full well hath Clifford played the orator,
Inferring
arguments of mighty force.
Shakespeare
4.
To derive by deduction or by induction; to conclude or surmise from facts or premises; to accept or derive, as a consequence, conclusion, or probability;
as, I
inferred
his determination from his silence
.
To
infer
is nothing but by virtue of one proposition laid down as true, to draw in another as true.
Locke.
Such opportunities always
infer
obligations.
Atterbury.
5.
To show; to manifest; to prove.
[Obs.]
The first part is not the proof of the second, but rather contrariwise, the second
inferreth
well the first.
Sir T. More.
This doth
infer
the zeal I had to see him.
Shakespeare

Webster 1828 Edition

Infer

INFER'

,
Verb.
T.
[L. infero; in and fero, to bear or produce.]
1.
Literally, to bring on; to induce. [Little used.]
2.
To deduce; to draw or derive, as a fact or consequence. From the character of God, as creator and governor of the world, we infer the indispensable obligation of all his creatures to obey his commands. We infer one proposition or truth from another, when we perceive that if one is true, the other must be true also.
3.
To offer; to produce. [Not used.]

Definition 2024

infer

infer

English

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.]
    • 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.
  2. (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, Essayes, London: Edward Blount, OCLC 946730821, II.3:
      These and a thousand like propositions, which concurre in this purpose, do evidently inferre [transl. sonnent] some thing beyond patient expecting of death it selfe to be suffered in this life […].
    • Shakespeare
      This doth infer the zeal I had to see him.
    • Sir Thomas More
      The first part is not the proof of the second, but rather contrariwise, the second inferreth well the first.
  3. (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 […].
  4. (obsolete) To introduce (a subject) in speaking, writing etc.; to bring in. [16th–18th c.]
    • Shakespeare
      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 considered incorrect.

Synonyms

Related terms

Translations

Anagrams

Latin

Pronunciation

  • (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈin.fer/, [ˈĩː.fɛr]

Verb

īnfer

  1. second-person singular present active imperative of īnferō

References

Etymology

From Latin inferō.

Pronunciation

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