I have to confess this is one of the set of words I’d used interchangeably previously, without appreciating the difference between them. But having been picked up by someone about this recently, I wanted to share the learning with others – and for my own future reference.

If someone implies something, they’re suggesting a point in an indirect way rather than stating something specifically. An individual who implies a belief, opinion or fact is attempting to convey this information, but it’s up to the listener to interpret what is being meant.

However, when someone infers something, they’re reaching their own conclusion about what someone has said. 

So, the easy way to remember this is that if someone is implying something, you (as the listener) infer what they say. Or, written another way, you infer a meaning from what someone else has implied.