Noun.
1.a.
1593–
The action or process of inferring; the drawing of a conclusion from known or assumed facts or statements; esp. in Logic, the forming of a conclusion from data or premisses, either by inductive or deductive methods; reasoning from something known or assumed to something else which follows from it; = illation n. Also (with plural), a particular act of inferring; the logical form in which this is expressed.
Additional sense (2024)
1960–
Originally: a simulated process of drawing a conclusion performed by a computer, program, etc. In later use: spec. the process by which a trained artificial intelligence program, system, etc., makes predictions, generates output, or otherwise responds to new inputs.
Oxford English Dictionary, “inference (n.), additional sense,” June 2025, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/7585762308.