# infer

Pronunciation: say "in-FUR" US /ɪnˈfɝ/, UK/AUS /ɪnˈfɜː/

## Verb

1. To reach a conclusion by reasoning from premises or evidence rather than from a direct statement.
   - Simple: To work out a fact or idea from clues or evidence instead of being told it directly.
   - _Scientists infer the age of distant stars from the light they emit._
   - _Readers are left to infer the narrator's guilt from scattered hints._
2. To suggest or imply something as a consequence, leaving it to be understood rather than directly stated.
   - Simple: To point to something as likely true without stating it openly.
   - _The wording can infer obligations that neither party discussed openly._
   - _Her careful phrasing inferred more doubt than she was willing to express._

## Verb

3. To bring in or introduce a subject in speech or writing; to adduce. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To bring a subject into a conversation or piece of writing.
4. To cause or inflict something, such as harm or injury, upon a person. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To bring harm or suffering upon someone.

## Origin

From Latin inferō, combining in- ("in, into") with ferō ("bear, carry"), which goes back through Proto-Italic *ferō to the Proto-Indo-European root *bʰer- ("to bear, carry"). It literally meant "carry forward", as in drawing a conclusion from a premise.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/infer (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).