as in deductions
an opinion arrived at through a process of reasoning
that seems like a reasonable inference, but in this case it happens to be incorrect
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Recent Examples of inferences
Social media platforms can verify age by either requesting copies of identification documents, using a third party to apply age estimation technology to an account holder’s face, or making inferences from data already available, such as how long an account has been active.
—
Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 16 Jan. 2026
Under California law, fraud must be pled with particularity, meaning there must be specifics and details in the complaint; generalizations, inferences and supposition don’t cut it.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 16 Jan. 2026
Our work also helps explain how people make what psychologists call compensatory inferences.
—Jaclyn L. Tanenbaum, Fortune, 6 Jan. 2026
This approach relies on information that is not available from the text alone, rather than on inferences drawn from the text itself.
—Ambuj Tewari, The Conversation, 18 Dec. 2025
These models are unknowable—black boxes with anthropomorphic traits, but that are ultimately a series of complex calculations and statistical inferences based on mind-boggling sums of training data; much of that information was taken without express permission from its creators.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 30 Nov. 2025
These aren't direct observations of dark matter, of course, but inferences made using dark matter's interactions with gravity as well as the influence gravity then has on ordinary matter and light.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 25 Nov. 2025
Such controls could become especially valuable given that, unlike the inferences tech platforms have been able to draw about users based on their online behavior, users tell AI chatbots personal things about themselves directly.
—Clare Duffy, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025
These sections have some interesting inferences on how AI functions based on its programming and training material.
—James Folta, Literary Hub, 26 Sep. 2025
Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 16 Jan. 2026
Under California law, fraud must be pled with particularity, meaning there must be specifics and details in the complaint; generalizations, inferences and supposition don’t cut it.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 16 Jan. 2026
Our work also helps explain how people make what psychologists call compensatory inferences.
—Jaclyn L. Tanenbaum, Fortune, 6 Jan. 2026
This approach relies on information that is not available from the text alone, rather than on inferences drawn from the text itself.
—Ambuj Tewari, The Conversation, 18 Dec. 2025
These models are unknowable—black boxes with anthropomorphic traits, but that are ultimately a series of complex calculations and statistical inferences based on mind-boggling sums of training data; much of that information was taken without express permission from its creators.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 30 Nov. 2025
These aren't direct observations of dark matter, of course, but inferences made using dark matter's interactions with gravity as well as the influence gravity then has on ordinary matter and light.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 25 Nov. 2025
Such controls could become especially valuable given that, unlike the inferences tech platforms have been able to draw about users based on their online behavior, users tell AI chatbots personal things about themselves directly.
—Clare Duffy, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025
These sections have some interesting inferences on how AI functions based on its programming and training material.
—James Folta, Literary Hub, 26 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inferences
Noun
-
TikToks promising secret loopholes, Reddit threads dissecting deductions and content creators insisting ways to outsmart the IRS.—
Miriam Fauzia,
Dallas Morning News,
18 Feb. 2026
-
In addition to the social media company tax, the governor’s plan also estimated raising $120 million from taxing table games and electronic gambling devices at casinos at the same rates, and $269 million from extending a cap on corporate tax deductions for operating losses.—
Rick Pearson,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Sometimes the conflicts reach logical conclusions within 30 minutes, while other times episodes just stop because life, kids, is often inconclusive.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Feb. 2026
-
The coroner is expected to deliver their conclusions in the matter on Wednesday.—
David Matthews,
Mercury News,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Final layoff determinations would not occur until May or June, after hearings and further review of attrition and revenues.—
Teresa Liu,
Daily News,
18 Feb. 2026
-
There are a few specific programs that hinge on these hardship determinations.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Not even mosques were spared the consequences of the aggressive crackdown.—
Yahya Salem,
CNN Money,
17 Feb. 2026
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The point is instead to say that the political consequences of opposing voter ID, for Democrats, are stark.—
Julian Baron,
Baltimore Sun,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The company noted that guides in the field had been in communication with senior guides at their base about conditions and route decisions.—
Elizabeth Wolfe,
CNN Money,
19 Feb. 2026
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Those engineering decisions worsened Katrina’s destruction.—
Melina Walling,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
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For fiction that fails to challenge preexisting views and assumptions is nothing more than idle chatter—small talk.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Certainly, Hondo looks pretty reflective and concerned in one of the first look stills as events challenge his legacy and his assumptions about authority, so sense of self.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
18 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Inferences.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inferences. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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