Confusables Entry 519 / 1011 60-second read

Imply vs. Infer

Speaker versus listener — a quick check.

The comparisoni

✗ Wrong

The speaker inferred we should leave.

✓ Correct

The speaker implied we should leave.

The ruleii

SPEAKER IMPLIES. LISTENER INFERS.

The sender of a message IMPLIES. The receiver INFERS.

Memory aidiii

Remember it like this

Implier is In the speech. Inferrer is Interpreting."

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