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Grammar Mishaps: Imply vs. Infer

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By Robin


Imply: A Definition

  1. To involve by logical necessity; entail: Life implies growth and death.
  2. To express or indicate indirectly: His tone implied anger.
  3. Obsolete To entangle.

implied, implying, implies

Infer: A Definition

  1. To conclude from evidence or premises.
  2. To reason from circumstance; surmise: We can infer that his reason for publishing the article was less than honorable.

  3. To lead to as a consequence or conclusion:
  4. To hint; imply

inferable, inferably, inferrer


What is the difference....exactly?

  • TO IMPLY IS FOR THE GIVER OF INFORMATION TO SUGGEST INDIRECTLY
  • TO INFER IS FOR THE RECEIVER OF INFORMATION TO MAKE A GUESS USING SPECIFIC EVIDENCE

Infer and imply are often confused, but there is a distinction between the two. When something is implied, it is suggested without being stated outright. When something is inferred, the reader is in control of drawing a conclusion that is not explicitly said. In other words, a writer implies and a reader infers. Another way to explain: information is categorized as a message, a sender and a receiver. The person sending the message implies, while the person receiving the message infers. Here are some examples for further clarification:
  1. The teacher implied that the test would include chapters two and three when she winked at her students while reviewing the contents of those specific chapters.
  2. The students inferred that the test would include chapters two and three because they had reviewed those chapters more than the others.
  1. When I gave you a watch for Christmas, I was implying for you to be more punctual.
  2. She inferred that the watch was a signal to be more punctual.

Thoughts, Comments or Questions?

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Ralph Deeds profile image

Ralph Deeds  says:
3 years ago

Thanks!

DEBASIS profile image

DEBASIS  says:
3 years ago

very useful for students

pudding  says:
3 years ago

Is this correct?

RECEIVER: "What are you implying, my good fellow.... well if you won't tell me then I can only infer that this means war!"

Can you give me an example of when a SENDER would use the words imply and infer

Stevorino  says:
2 years ago

Robin, a good explanation of the differences between the two often confused words, but I take some issue with a couple of the clarifying examples. The first being the following:

"When I gave you a watch for Christmas, I was implying for you to be more punctual."

I suggest that this is a strange construction that sounds off. I don't believe anyone can imply "for" something to be done. You might consider revising.

Also, under the definition for imply, you use:

"To express or indicate indirectly: His tone implied anger."

I would suggest that the tone itself doesn't do the implying. Rather, the speaker, via his or her tone, did so. His tone may have indicated anger, or suggested anger, etc. Anyway. thanks and carry on.

Omaha  says:
16 months ago

I'm sorry, but am I the only one reading the full definition of "infer"? I see, under the number 4 use of the word, the definition "to hint; imply". Though I would never use infer this way, it appears to me that you can use the word in the same context as "imply" and still be correct. Food for thought...

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