different between infer vs comprehend

English

Etymology

From Latin infer?, from Latin in- (“in, at, on; into”) + Latin fer? (“bear, carry; suffer”) (cognate to Old English beran, whence English bear), from Proto-Italic *fer?, from Proto-Indo-European *b?éreti (“to bear, carry”), from the root *b?er-. Literally “carry forward”, equivalent to “bear in”, as in concluding from a premise.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?n?f?/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?n?f??/
• Rhymes: -??(?)

Verb

infer (third-person singular simple present infers, present participle inferring, simple past and past participle inferred)

1. (transitive) To introduce (something) as a reasoned conclusion; to conclude by reasoning or deduction, as from premises or evidence. [from 16th c.]
   • 2010, "Keep calm, but don't carry on", The Economist, 7 Oct 2010:

     It is dangerous to infer too much from martial bluster in British politics: at the first hint of trouble, channelling Churchill is a default tactic for beleaguered leaders of all sorts.

2. (transitive) To lead to (something) as a consequence; to imply. (Now often considered incorrect, especially with a person as subject.) [from 16th c.]
   • a. 1535, Thomas More, letter to Fryth

     the fyrste parte is not the proofe of the second. but rather contrarywyse the seconde inferreth well y? fyrst.

3. (obsolete) To cause, inflict (something) upon or to someone. [16th-18th c.]
   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, VI.8:

     faire Serena […] fled fast away, afeard / Of villany to be to her inferd […].

4. (obsolete) To introduce (a subject) in speaking, writing etc.; to bring in. [16th–18th c.]

Usage notes

There are two ways in which the word "infer" is sometimes used as if it meant "imply". "Implication" is done by a person when making a "statement", whereas "inference" is done to a proposition after it had already been made or assumed. Secondly, the word "infer" can sometimes be used to mean "allude" or "express" in a suggestive manner rather than as a direct "statement". Using the word "infer" in this sense is now generally considered incorrect. [1] [2]

Synonyms

• assume, conclude, deduce, educe, construe

Related terms

• inferable
• inference
• illative
• illation
• -ferous (-iferous)

Translations

Anagrams

• -frine, Finer, finer, frine

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /?in.fer/, [???f?r]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /?in.fer/, [?inf?r]

Verb

?nfer

1. second-person singular present active imperative of ?nfer?

References

• infer in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• infer in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette

English

Etymology

From Middle English comprehenden, from Latin comprehendere (“to grasp”), from the prefix com- + prehendere (“to seize”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /k?mp???h?nd/
• (US) IPA^(key): /k?mp???h?nd/
• Rhymes: -?nd

Verb

comprehend (third-person singular simple present comprehends, present participle comprehending, simple past and past participle comprehended)

1. (now rare) To include, comprise; to contain. [from 14th c.]
   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, IV.1:

     And lothly mouth, unmeete a mouth to bee, / That nought but gall and venim comprehended […].

   • 1776, Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Penguin 2009, p. 9:

     In the second century of the Christian Æra, the empire of Rome comprehended the fairest part of the earth, and the most civilized portion of mankind.

2. To understand or grasp fully and thoroughly. [from 14th c.]

Related terms

Translations

French

Verb

comprehend

1. third-person singular present indicative of comprehendre