Imply means to suggest; to indicate indirectly; to involve by logical necessity; to hint at.
When a speaker or sentence implies something, it means that it is conveyed or suggested without being stated outright: When the minister said that he would not rule out a tax increase, he implied (not inferred) that some taxes might be raised.
- Shania did not actually say that there was going to be a delay but she implied it
- The size of Sam's house implies he is doing all right.
Infer is sometimes confused with imply.
Infer means to deduce; to figure out; to conclude from evidence or premises; surmise; to lead to as a consequence; to reason from circumstance.
Infer means to deduce; to figure out; to conclude from evidence or premises; surmise; to lead to as a consequence; to reason from circumstance.
Inference is the activity performed by a reader or a interpreter in drawing conclusions that are not explicit in what is said: When the minister said that he would not rule out a tax increase, we inferred that he had been consulting with his new advisers, since his old advisers were in favour of tax reductions.
- I inferred from Sam's terse reply that I had offended him.
- From the annual financial reports economists inferred the company was about to go bankrupt.
