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# inference

«inference» in Mova's judaism dictionary: **An idea or answer you work out from clues or facts, not…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (an inference, inferences)

### meaning for a pupil

1) An idea or answer you work out from clues or facts, not from being told directly. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/I/inference/#m1)

2) The act of working something out from what you already know. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/I/inference/#m2)

3) (formal, maths and science) A conclusion drawn from data or from a set of statements by careful reasoning. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/I/inference/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In reading lessons pupils "make an inference" about how a character feels from clues in the text. In science an inference goes beyond what you saw: you see wet ground and infer it rained. In maths and statistics an inference is a conclusion drawn from data. Phrases: make an inference, draw an inference, by inference.

### examples

- As al- ready demonstrated, the lirst alphabet invented was similar to that still used by the Berbers, whence the inference, that there may have been a time when the Hebrews also used such an alphabet. (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/I/inference/#x1)
- From the muddy boots, my inference was that Dad had been in the garden. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/I/inference/#x2)
- Our teacher asked us to make an inference about why the boy was crying. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/I/inference/#x3)
- The detective's inference was right: the thief had a key. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/I/inference/#x4)
- You saw smoke, so the inference is that something is burning. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/I/inference/#x5)
- It is only an inference, not a fact, so check it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/I/inference/#x6)
- The report draws an inference from the survey data (formal). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/I/inference/#x7)
- By inference, the missing number must be bigger than ten. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/I/inference/#x8)

### note

Countable noun: an inference, two inferences. Verb: infer (infer, infers, inferred, inferring). Trap: an observation is what you see; an inference is what you decide it means. Do not confuse "infer" (the listener works it out) with "imply" (the speaker hints it). In word problems, an inference is a fact the problem does not state but you must work out.

### In the corpora

- [Inference means working out what the writer means but does not say.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/0/)
- [An inference must fit ALL the clues, not just one.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/6/)
- [Inference means working out something the text suggests but does not say directly.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/13/)
- [A good inference gives the idea and the evidence: «She was angry because she slammed the door.»](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/15/)
- [An inference must fit all the clues, not just one of them.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/16/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «inference» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/I/inference/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.