- 1to reach an opinion or decide that something is true on the basis of information that is available synonym deduce infer something (from something) Much of the meaning must be inferred from the context. Readers are left to infer the killer's motives. infer that… It is reasonable to infer that the government knew about these deals.
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- 2infer (that)… infer something (non-standard) to suggest indirectly that something is true Are you inferring (that) I'm not capable of doing the job?
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NAmE//ɪnˈfər//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they infer he / she / it infers
past simple inferred
-ing form inferring
- Infer and imply have opposite meanings. The two words can describe the same event, but from different points of view. If a speaker or writer implies something, they suggest it without saying it directly:The article implied that the pilot was responsible for the accident.If you infer something from what a speaker or writer says, you come to the conclusion that this is what he or she means:I inferred from the article that the pilot was responsible for the accident.
- Infer is now often used with the same meaning as imply. However, many people consider that a sentence such asAre you inferring that I’m a liar?is incorrect, although it is fairly common in speech.
Check pronunciation: infer