The two words ‘imply’ and ‘infer’ are sometimes confused. Both are verbs relating to the act of speech, but one verb is enacted by the speaker and the other by the listener. Throughout the course of a conversation, one person could imply something and the other could infer something else from what has been said. Read on to learn more about their differences in meaning and usage.
Imply
The verb ‘to imply’ means to insinuate something through speech or writing without actually explicitly stating it. It might be helpful to substitute the word ‘imply’ for ‘suggest’. It would be used in a sentence like this:
‘The president’s rhetoric implied that he did not intend to introduce the law’.
Aside from direct speech, ‘imply’ can also be used to mean the logical conclusion or consequence which follows on from a series of events or one action, as in the sentence:
‘His lack of a suitcase implied that he did not intend to stay the night’.
The word ‘imply’ is occasionally also used to mean ‘necessitates’ or ‘entails’, as in a sentence like this:
‘A vacation to Mexico implies air travel’.
Infer
The verb ‘to infer’ means to deduce something or come to a conclusion based on the evidence presented. One infers something by examining clues and trends rather than explicitly stated factual information. For example,
‘I infer from what you’ve said that you don’t agree with me’.
Be aware that what is inferred by the listener is not necessarily always what was intended by the speaker, and that the listener might interpret what has been said incorrectly.
Remember:
It’s all about point of view.
The person speaking is the one doing the implying.
The person listening is the one doing the inferring.
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Imply
The verb ‘to imply’ means to insinuate something through speech or writing without actually explicitly stating it. It might be helpful to substitute the word ‘imply’ for ‘suggest’. It would be used in a sentence like this:
‘The president’s rhetoric implied that he did not intend to introduce the law’.
Aside from direct speech, ‘imply’ can also be used to mean the logical conclusion or consequence which follows on from a series of events or one action, as in the sentence:
‘His lack of a suitcase implied that he did not intend to stay the night’.
The word ‘imply’ is occasionally also used to mean ‘necessitates’ or ‘entails’, as in a sentence like this:
‘A vacation to Mexico implies air travel’.
Infer
The verb ‘to infer’ means to deduce something or come to a conclusion based on the evidence presented. One infers something by examining clues and trends rather than explicitly stated factual information. For example,
‘I infer from what you’ve said that you don’t agree with me’.
Be aware that what is inferred by the listener is not necessarily always what was intended by the speaker, and that the listener might interpret what has been said incorrectly.
Remember:
It’s all about point of view.
The person speaking is the one doing the implying.
The person listening is the one doing the inferring.
If you would like some more guidance and advice to do with academic writing, or would like to have up to 500 words of your own work checked through for free, get in touch with the professionals at Proofread My Paper!