inference

American  

[in-fer-uhns, -fruhns] / ˈɪn fər əns, -frəns /

noun

1. the act or process of inferring.

2. something that is inferred.

   to make rash inferences.

3. Logic.

   1. the process of deriving the strict logical consequences of assumed premises.

   2. the process of arriving at some conclusion that, though it is not logically derivable from the assumed premises, possesses some degree of probability relative to the premises.

   3. a proposition reached by a process of inference.

---

inference British  

/ ˈɪnfərəns, -frəns /

noun

1. the act or process of inferring

2. an inferred conclusion, deduction, etc

3. any process of reasoning from premises to a conclusion

4. logic the specific mode of reasoning used See also deduction induction

---

inference Cultural  

1. In logic, the deriving of one idea from another. Inference can proceed through either induction or deduction.

---

inference Idioms  

1. see draw an inference.

---

Other Word Forms

• misinference noun
• preinference noun
• superinference noun

Etymology

Origin of inference

From the Medieval Latin word inferentia, dating back to 1585–95. See infer, -ence

Example Sentences

In particular, Meta is focused on inference—using trained AI models to solve problems and complete tasks—which industry executives increasingly tout as the next step in AI.

From Barron's

As focus shifts more to inference, or the process of running AI models after training, interest in central processing units for data-center servers has soared in recent months.

From MarketWatch

Cognitive scientists have investigated whether the brain itself is Bayesian—a probabilistic inference engine, perpetually recalibrating, merging incoming sensory data with past experience.

From The Wall Street Journal

Allowing for more storage space there addresses a critical need as the industry shifts to AI inference, or the process of running models.

From MarketWatch

It is another competitor in the inference space, and is an incredibly well-run company.

From Barron's

Related Words

• assumption
• conjecture
• interpretation
• presumption
• reasoning
• supposition