inference

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A conclusion you reach by reasoning from clues or evidence instead of being told directly.

   Grammar: Usually followed by from or about: draw an inference from the data.

   Patterns

   • draw an inference from something
   • make an inference about something
   • the inference that something

   From the muddy boots by the door, I made the inference that he had been outside.

   Readers must use inference to understand what the narrator leaves unsaid.

   The inference that prices would rise was based on last year's trend.

2. 2noununcountabletechnical

   The process of reaching conclusions by reasoning, especially in logic, statistics or artificial intelligence.

   Grammar: Names the activity itself, with no article: statistical inference.

   Patterns

   • statistical inference
   • inference engine

   Statistical inference lets researchers say something about a population from a small sample.

   The model's inference runs quickly once training is finished.

   Good scientists separate observation from inference.

Word forms

Common combinations

draw an inference

It is easy to draw the wrong inference from one study.

make an inference

Students make an inference about the character's feelings.

logical inference

Her sudden silence led to a logical inference.

statistical inference

Statistical inference needs a random sample.

by inference

By inference, the missing file must have been deleted.

Synonyms and how they differ

deduction

Deduction implies a strict step from known facts to a certain result, whereas inference can be only probable.

conclusion

Conclusion is the broader word for any final judgement, and does not stress that it was reasoned from clues.

assumption

An assumption is accepted without proof, while an inference is drawn from evidence.

implication

Implication is what is suggested by the speaker, but inference is what the listener works out.

Opposites

Word family

infer verb

to reach a conclusion by reasoning

inferential adjective

based on inference

inferable adjective

able to be concluded from the evidence

inferred adjective

worked out rather than stated

Commonly confused: inference or implication?

Practice

Make it your own

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

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