I was watching a detective-y murder-y mystery show the other day. One of the cops asked another one if he was inferring something or implying it. And that made me realise that I don’t know the difference and I’ve been using these two words interchangeably. Luckily the power of the internet means it’s easy to put this right. And the other bit of good news is that it’s not too hard to remember which one’s which – you just need to know who’s doing the doing.
The long answer
To imply means to suggest something without saying it directly. It’s when the friend you’re visiting looks at their watch and says ‘Oh, I didn’t realise how late it’s got,’ when what they actually mean is ‘Get out of my house because I want to go to bed’. Implying is all about suggesting something without saying it outright. And it’s always done by the person speaking (or writing, if you’re reading).
On the other hand, inferring is what a listener or reader does – they pick up on a hint and draw a conclusion. So when you hear ‘Oh, I didn’t realise how late it’s got’ and think, ‘Oh crap, I’ve outstayed my welcome,’ you’re inferring.
The short answer
Imply = giving a hint.
Infer = getting the hint.
One is about putting the message out there – the other one is about figuring it out.
A bit of word history
Both ‘imply’ and ‘infer’ have Latin roots. ‘Imply’ comes from ‘implicare’, meaning ‘to entwine’ or ‘to involve’ – because it’s all about weaving ideas together subtly. ‘Infer’, on the other hand, comes from ‘inferre’, meaning ‘to bring in’ or ‘to deduce’. That’s because it’s about bringing meaning out of what’s been said.
Does it matter?
Obviously, it’s not the end of the world if you get these the wrong way round. But it could confuse someone. For example, ‘She inferred I had to leave’ and ‘She implied I had to leave’ mean completely different things. So it’s worth making sure you’re using the right one.