n.
Pronunciation: ' in-f( ə -)r ə n(t)s, -f ə rn(t)s
Function: noun
Date: 1594
1 : the act or process of inferring: as a : the act of passing from one proposition, statement, or judgment considered as true to another whose truth is believed to follow from that of the former b : the act of passing from statistical sample data to generalizations (as of the value of population parameters) usually with calculated degrees of certainty
2 : something that is inferred especially : a proposition arrived at by inference
3 : the premises and conclusion of a process of inferring