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INFERENTIAL
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Dictionary entry overview: What does inferential mean?
• INFERENTIAL (adjective)
The adjective INFERENTIAL has 5 senses:
1. relating to or having the nature of illation or inference
2. of reasoning; proceeding from general premisses to a necessary and specific conclusion
3. resembling or dependent on or arrived at by inference
4. derived or capable of being derived by inference
5. based on interpretation; not directly expressed
Familiarity information: INFERENTIAL used as an adjective is common.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
Relating to or having the nature of illation or inference
Classified under:
Relational adjectives (pertainyms)
Synonyms:
illative; inferential
Context example:
the illative faculty of the mind
Pertainym:
inference (the reasoning involved in drawing a conclusion or making a logical judgment on the basis of circumstantial evidence and prior conclusions rather than on the basis of direct observation)
Derivation:
inference (the reasoning involved in drawing a conclusion or making a logical judgment on the basis of circumstantial evidence and prior conclusions rather than on the basis of direct observation)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Of reasoning; proceeding from general premisses to a necessary and specific conclusion
Similar:
deductive (involving inferences from general principles)
Domain category:
logic (the branch of philosophy that analyzes inference)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Resembling or dependent on or arrived at by inference
Synonyms:
illative; inferential
Context example:
inferential reasoning
Similar:
deductive (involving inferences from general principles)
Derivation:
inference (the reasoning involved in drawing a conclusion or making a logical judgment on the basis of circumstantial evidence and prior conclusions rather than on the basis of direct observation)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Derived or capable of being derived by inference
Similar:
connotative (having the power of implying or suggesting something in addition to what is explicit)
Derivation:
inference (the reasoning involved in drawing a conclusion or making a logical judgment on the basis of circumstantial evidence and prior conclusions rather than on the basis of direct observation)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Based on interpretation; not directly expressed
Similar:
constructive (constructing or tending to construct or improve or promote development)
Context examples
This distribution is often used in inferential statistics in tests of significance.
(Chi-Square Distribution, NCI Thesaurus)
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