imply or infer? These two words are sometimes confused, though they are in fact opposite in meaning. To imply something is to suggest it by what you say without stating it explicitly: She implied that I was untrustworthy. To infer something is to deduce it from what someone says, even though they have not explicitly said as much: I inferred from her remark that she thought me untrustworthy. That said, the use of infer to mean the same as imply has become increasingly common