Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Writing Wednesday: Imply vs. infer

I'm still not back to 100 percent, but thank you for your kind comments about me being sick! I'm feeling much better, and I actually sang and played the piano a bit this evening to warm up my voice -- especially since I'll be singing a difficult song with a few other ladies at a choir practice tomorrow.

Anyway, I'm keeping this week's Writing Wednesday simple again with a quick explanation of imply and infer. These words are frequently confused, but they don't have to be.

Imply: This word means "to suggest," as in Are you implying that I'm a bad athlete? This word is often used in an accusatory tone in today's world, but all it really means is that you're indicating something.

Infer: I like to think of this word as "deduce" (or think of Sherlock Holmes). When you infer, you draw a conclusion from what someone else has said or done. For example, I am inferring that you like pepperoni based on your pizza choice. Sorry -- lame example. But it's all I could think of.

Hope you're having a good week! My voice is nearly back to normal (although it's still lower than it usually is), and I'm looking forward to a few days off for Christmas.

1 comment:

Thanks for sharing your beautiful thoughts! I love reading them.