Skip to content

inferir

to infer

verb een-feh-REER Rare
Mind & Emotions Mental States

Origin: From Latin inferre, 'to bring in, to conclude'.

Also means

to deduce

Usage Note

Inferir means to reach a conclusion from evidence or reasoning. It is slightly more formal than deducir and belongs to the same register as academic and legal writing. Crucially, inferir is also a false friend trap: it does NOT mean 'to infer wrongly' — that would require additional context. In Spanish-speaking legal contexts inferir una herida means to inflict a wound, an entirely separate meaning preserved from the Latin sense 'to bring upon'.

Examples

"Puedo inferir su respuesta por su silencio."

Natural Translation

I can infer his answer from his silence.

Explore Spanish by topic