A speaker implies (or "suggests") something; a listener infers (or "deduces").
See also:
Examples:
The manager implied that I was a bad risk. I inferred from her remarks that she thought I was lazy.
Usage Notes:
- Zack: You know, I saw this great thing on the Discovery Channel. Turns out that if you kill a starfish, it'll just come back to life.
Sheldon: Was the starfish wearing boxer shorts? Because you might have been watching Nickelodeon.
Zack: No, I'm almost sure that it was the Discovery Channel. It was a great show. They also said dolphins might be smarter than people.
Leonard: They might be smarter than some people.
Zack: Maybe we can do an experiment to find out.
Sheldon: That's easy enough. We need a large tank of water, a hoop to jump through, and a bucket of whatever bite-sized treats you find tasty.
Zack: I don't get it.
Leonard: A dolphin might.
Zack: Oh, I see. You guys are inferring that I'm stupid.
Sheldon: That's not correct. We were implying it. You then inferred it.
(Brian Smith, Jim Parsons, and Johnny Galecki in "The Justice League Recombination."The Big Bang Theory, 2010) - "You think it's being a pedant to insist on a difference between imply, 'to hint,' and infer, 'to draw a conclusion from'? (Correct: I infer that you are implying I am a pedant.)"
(William Safire, "Whitewaterese." The New York Times, August 28, 1994)
Practice:
(a) The reporter _____ in her article that an employee started the fire.
(b) I _____ from the article that the police have a suspect.
