Infers

Infers is the third-person singular present tense of the verb infer. To infer is to derive a conclusion from evidence, reasoning, or data, rather than from direct statements. Infers is used when the subject performs the act of drawing conclusions, as in "The scientist infers from the data that the reaction is exothermic." An alternative construction is "We infer that..." or "From these results, the researchers infer that the method is reliable."

Etymology: The English verb infer comes from Latin inferre "to bring in, induce," via Old French inférer. It entered English in the early modern period.

Usage and nuance: Infers typically governs prepositional phrases such as from or that. The phrase "infer from" is common: "infers from the evidence." The expression "infers that" can convey a conclusion; "implies" is the related verb used from the speaker’s side.

Distinctions: Infer is often contrasted with deduce; both involve reasoning, but deduce emphasizes logical consequence from general principles, while infer emphasizes reasoning from specific evidence. Imply is the act of suggesting by one’s statements; infer is the act of deriving conclusions from those statements.

In other fields: In computer science, type inference is the process by which a compiler deduces types automatically. In linguistics and cognitive science, researchers discuss how listeners infer speaker intent from context.

See also: Inference, inferential, inference rule.