| 释义 |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024in•fer /ɪnˈfɜr/USA pronunciation v., -ferred, -fer•ring. - to conclude from evidence: [~ + object]You can infer that fact from the others.[~ + that clause]He inferred that you are opposed to the treaty.
See -fer-. WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024in•fer (in fûr′),USA pronunciation v., -ferred, -fer•ring. v.t. - to derive by reasoning;
conclude or judge from premises or evidence:They inferred his displeasure from his cool tone of voice. - (of facts, circumstances, statements, etc.) to indicate or involve as a conclusion;
lead to. - to guess;
speculate;
surmise. - to hint;
imply;
suggest.
v.i. - to draw a conclusion, as by reasoning.
- Latin inferre, equivalent. to in- in-2 + ferre to bring, carry, bear1
- 1520–30
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged deduce, reason, guess.
Infer has been used to mean "to hint or suggest'' since the 16th century by speakers and writers of unquestioned ability and eminence:The next speaker criticized the proposal, inferring that it was made solely to embarrass the government.Despite its long history, many 20th-century usage guides condemn the use, maintaining that the proper word for the intended sense is imply and that to use infer is to lose a valuable distinction between the two words.Although the claimed distinction has probably existed chiefly in the pronouncements of usage guides, and although the use of infer to mean "to suggest'' usually produces no ambiguity, the distinction too has a long history and is widely observed by many speakers and writers. Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: infer /ɪnˈfɜː/ vb ( -fers, -ferring, -ferred)(when tr, may take a clause as object)- to conclude (a state of affairs, supposition, etc) by reasoning from evidence; deduce
- (transitive) to have or lead to as a necessary or logical consequence; indicate
- (transitive) to hint or imply
Etymology: 16th Century: from Latin inferre to bring into, from ferre to bear, carryinˈferable, inˈferible, inˈferrable, inˈferrible adj inˈferrer n USAGE
The use of infer to mean imply is becoming more and more common in both speech and writing. There is nevertheless a useful distinction between the two which many people would be in favour of maintaining. To infer means `to deduce', and is used in the construction to infer something from something: I inferred from what she said that she had not been well. To imply (sense 1) means `to suggest, to insinuate' and is normally followed by a clause: are you implying that I was responsible for the mistake? |