Meaning & use
flawed inference
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Meanings
nouncountableformal
A conclusion drawn from evidence in a way that is logically unsound or based on weak reasoning.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a flawed inference' or 'several flawed inferences'.
Patterns
- draw a flawed inference
- a flawed inference from something
- a flawed inference about something
The study drew a flawed inference from a very small sample.
Reviewers pointed out a flawed inference in the second chapter.
A flawed inference about cause and effect can mislead an entire field.
noununcountableformal
The act or process of reasoning incorrectly from available information.
Grammar: No article when it refers to the process in general.
Patterns
- flawed inference from data
- avoid flawed inference
Good training helps students avoid flawed inference.
Flawed inference from correlation is a common mistake in statistics.
Word forms
| plural | flawed inferences |
|---|
Common combinations
- draw a flawed inference
- They drew a flawed inference from the survey results.
- a flawed inference from data
- The report made a flawed inference from data that was incomplete.
- based on flawed inference
- The policy was based on flawed inference rather than evidence.
- identify a flawed inference
- The teacher asked us to identify a flawed inference in the argument.
Synonyms and how they differ
- false conclusion
- Focuses on the result being untrue, while 'flawed inference' focuses on the faulty reasoning that produced it.
- logical error
- Broader: any mistake in reasoning, not only one made when drawing a conclusion from evidence.
- misreading
- Often suggests misinterpreting a text or situation rather than a formal reasoning error.
Opposites
Word family
- infer verb
- To reach an opinion from evidence rather than direct statement.
- inference noun
- A conclusion reached by reasoning from evidence.
- inferential adjective
- Relating to inference, as in 'inferential statistics'.
Commonly confused: flawed inference or implication?
flawed inference vs implication
An implication is something suggested without being stated; an inference is the conclusion the listener or reader draws.
Practice
Choose the sentence that uses the phrase most naturally.
Choose one answer.
The verb that collocates with 'inference' is 'draw', and the preposition that follows is 'from'. 'Make' is possible with 'inference' but not with 'to', and 'do an inference' is not natural English.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “flawed inference”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.