conclude

Meanings

1. 1verbtransitive or intransitive

   To come to a firm opinion after thinking about the evidence or facts.

   Grammar: Followed by that or from: she concluded that he was lying.

   Patterns

   • conclude that something
   • conclude from something that
   • conclude something from something

   After weeks of testing, the engineers concluded that the bridge was safe.

   What can we conclude from these results?

   I concluded from her tone that she was upset.

2. 2verbtransitive or intransitiveformal

   To come to an end or to finish something such as a speech, meeting, or event.

   Grammar: Can have no object: the meeting concluded. Or take one: conclude the meeting.

   Patterns

   • conclude with something
   • conclude something with something

   The concert concluded with a rousing encore.

   She concluded her speech by thanking the volunteers.

   The season concludes in May.

3. 3verbtransitiveformalbusiness

   To formally settle or complete an agreement or deal.

   Grammar: Takes an object such as a treaty, contract or deal.

   Patterns

   • conclude an agreement

   The two countries concluded a trade agreement last week.

   The firm hopes to conclude the sale by December.

   They concluded a contract after long talks.

Word forms

Common combinations

conclude that

The jury concluded that the defendant was not guilty.

conclude with

The ceremony concluded with a short film.

conclude a meeting

The chair concluded the meeting at noon.

safely conclude

We can safely conclude that the experiment worked.

conclude a deal

They concluded a deal after three rounds of talks.

to conclude

To conclude, I would like to thank you all.

Synonyms and how they differ

deduce

Deduce means working out a result by logical steps from known facts, while conclude can also be a looser judgment.

finish

Finish is the everyday word and works with any task, whereas conclude sounds more formal and suits speeches, events and talks.

infer

Infer means to reach an idea from hints rather than stated facts, whereas conclude suggests a final judgment.

end

End is the plainest word and can be abrupt, while conclude suggests a planned, orderly finish.

Opposites

Word family

conclusion noun

the end of something, or a final judgment

conclusive adjective

proving something beyond doubt

conclusively adverb

in a way that settles a question

inconclusive adjective

not leading to a clear result

Commonly confused: conclude or include? conclude or exclude?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “conclude”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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