inferin‧fer /ɪnˈfɜː $ -ɜːr/ ●○○ AWL verb (past tense and past participle inferred, present participle inferring) [transitive] 
Word Origin Examples
A lot can be inferred from these statistics.infer that From the evidence, we can infer that the victim knew her killer.
Word OriginWORD ORIGINinfer
Verb TableOrigin:
1500-1600 Latin inferre, from ferre ‘to carry’VERB TABLE
infer
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | infer |
| he, she, it | infers | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | inferred |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have inferred |
| he, she, it | has inferred | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had inferred |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will infer |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have inferred |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am inferring |
| he, she, it | is inferring | |
| you, we, they | are inferring | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was inferring |
| you, we, they | were inferring | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been inferring |
| he, she, it | has been inferring | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been inferring |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be inferring |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been inferring |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- From archaeological evidence we can reasonably infer that these people used stone cutting tools.
- From this, astronomers can infer the presence of many more "black holes".
- It is easy to infer that the marriage was not a very happy one.
- It seems reasonable to infer that the cause was not sabotage but a simple accident.
- We can infer from the archaeological evidence that there was slavery in Carthage.
Longman Language Activatorto decide that something is true► decide
Collocations to think that something is true, after thinking about it, checking it, or looking at it: decide (that): · I listened to his story and decided he was probably telling the truth.decide whether/which/what etc: · She couldn't decide whether the dress suited her or not.
► come to/reach the conclusion to decide that something is true after thinking carefully about all the facts: come to/reach the conclusion (that): · I came to the conclusion that there was only one way of tackling the problem.· Scientists were gradually coming to the conclusion that the disease was hereditary.
► conclude to decide that something is true or to make a judgment about it after carefully considering all the facts: conclude (that): · The jury listened carefully to the evidence and concluded that the man was guilty.· It seems reasonable to conclude that people's behaviour is influenced by what they see on TV.conclude from something that: · Davis concludes from an analysis of traffic accidents that the speed limit should be lowered.
► jump to conclusions to decide too quickly that something is true, without considering all the facts: · Don't jump to conclusions! Just because he's late doesn't mean he's had an accident.
► judge formal to decide that something is true after examining a situation carefully and using your knowledge and experience: judge that: · Kaldor judged that the moment was exactly right to call an election.judge whether/which/what etc: · It's difficult to judge whether this is the right time to tell him.
► deduce to decide that something must be true because of other facts that you know - used to talk about scientific or technical decisions: deduce (that): · Darwin's observations led him to deduce that plants and animals could adapt to their surroundings.deduce something from something: · The police surgeon was able to deduce the probable time of death from the temperature of the body.
► infer to form an opinion or decide that something is probably true because of other information you already know: infer that: · It is easy to infer that the marriage was not a very happy one.infer from something that: · From archaeological evidence we can reasonably infer that these people used stone cutting tools.
to believe that something has a particular meaning► interpret to choose to believe that what someone says or does has a particular meaning, especially if it is not easy to understand or is not completely clear: · How would you interpret her letter? Is she really hostile or just being ironic?· This dream can be interpreted in several different ways.interpret something as something: · I interpreted her silence as anger.· They are worried that the workers might interpret the new law as a restriction of their rights.
► understand something to mean to think that something has a particular meaning even though you cannot be completely sure that this is what it means: · Democracy was originally understood to mean the people governing themselves.· The Victorians understood "The environment" to mean the background to human activity, in particular, industrial activity.
► read into to think that something has a meaning that it does not in fact have, especially by thinking that it is more important than it really is: read something into something: · Be careful not to read your own modern opinions into this story.· The statement criticized journalists for reading too much into what he had said about the war.read into something something: · Some critics have read into the more macabre scenes a subconscious hatred of his parents.
► take something as to believe that what someone does or says has a particular meaning, especially if you think it shows their attitude towards you: take something as an insult/compliment/criticism etc: · Had he spoken like this to anyone else, it would have been taken as an insult.· I take it as a compliment when my students ask questions after class.take something as a sign/signal etc: · The investors took this interest rate cut as a sign that the Government was desperate.
► infer formal to think that something is true because another fact makes it seem likely, even though it does not prove it completely: · From this, astronomers can infer the presence of many more "black holes".infer (from something) that: · It seems reasonable to infer that the cause was not sabotage but a simple accident.· We can infer from the archaeological evidence that there was slavery in Carthage.
► read between the lines to guess the real meaning of something by thinking very carefully and noticing that the meaning is different from what it at first seems to be: · Perseverance is required to understand the story and you have to read between the lines to find the book's full meaning.reading between the lines (=used to say what you think the real situation is): · Reading between the lines, I don't think they want to train people who might soon leave the company.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB► only
Word family· For the other families, however, association with the duke can be inferred only from grants made after his accession.· The date of these events can be inferred only by the episcopal chronology of the bishops of the eastern Angles.
NOUN► fact· Negligence may be inferred from the fact that the product left the manufacturer in a defective state.· But he couldn't infer the facts of consciousness.
WORD FAMILYnouninferenceadjectiveinferentialverbinferadverbinferentially
to form an opinion that something is probably true because of information that you haveinfer something from something A lot can be inferred from these statistics.infer that From the evidence, we can infer that the victim knew her killer.