What's the difference between 'imply' and 'infer'?

Question

Accepted Answer

**The key distinction:**

**Imply = the speaker/writer suggests something indirectly**
- "She implied that the project was behind schedule." (she suggested it without saying it)
- "What are you implying?" (what are you hinting at?)

**Infer = the listener/reader draws a conclusion from evidence**
- "From her tone, I inferred that she was angry." (I concluded this from signals)
- "What can we infer from the data?"

**Memory trick:** Imply = In → out (the speaker puts meaning out). Infer = In → reader takes meaning In.

**Common error:** "Are you inferring that I'm wrong?" — this should be "Are you implying?" The listener infers; the speaker implies. Using "infer" for the speaker is a frequent mistake, even among native speakers.

**The chain:** A speaker **implies** → a listener **infers** from what was implied.

**Register:** The distinction matters in formal writing. In casual conversation, the error is rarely corrected.

**Tags:** vocabulary, imply vs infer, communication, common mistakes