literal Alternative forms
* litteral (obsolete)
Adjective
( en adjective)
Exactly as stated; read or understood without additional interpretation; according to the letter or verbal expression; real; not figurative or metaphorical.
- The literal translation is “hands full of bananas” but it means empty-handed.
* Hooker
- a middle course between the rigour of literal translation and the liberty of paraphrasts
Following the letter or exact words; not free; not taking liberties.
- A literal reading of the law would prohibit it, but that is clearly not the intent.
(uncommon) Consisting of, or expressed by, letters.
- a literal equation
* Johnson
- The literal notation of numbers was known to Europeans before the ciphers.
(of a person) Giving a strict or literal construction; unimaginative; matter-of-fact.
Antonyms
* (exactly as stated) figurative
Related terms
* letter
* literacy
* literary
* literate
* literature
Noun
( en noun)
(programming) A value, as opposed to an identifier, written into the source code of a computer program.
(logic) A propositional variable or the negation of a propositional variable.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resolution_%28logic%29]
See also
* constant
* prime formula
External links
*
*
Anagrams
*
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inferred English
Verb
(head)
(infer)
infer English
Verb
( inferr)
To introduce (something) as a reasoned conclusion; to conclude by reasoning or deduction, as from premises or evidence.
* 2010 , "Keep calm, but don't carry on", The Economist , 7 Oct 2010:
- It is dangerous to infer too much from martial bluster in British politics: at the first hint of trouble, channelling Churchill is a default tactic for beleaguered leaders of all sorts.
To lead to (something) as a consequence; to imply. (Now often considered incorrect, especially with a person as subject.)
*, II.3:
- These and a thousand like propositions, which concurre in this purpose, do evidently inferre .
* Shakespeare
- This doth infer the zeal I had to see him.
* Sir Thomas More
- The first part is not the proof of the second, but rather contrariwise, the second inferreth well the first.
(obsolete) To cause, inflict (something) (upon) or (to) someone.
* 1596 , (Edmund Spenser), The Faerie Queene , VI.8:
- faire Serena.
(obsolete) To introduce (a subject) in speaking, writing etc.; to bring in.
* Shakespeare
- Full well hath Clifford played the orator, / Inferring arguments of mighty force.
Usage notes
There are two ways in which the word "infer" is sometimes used as if it meant "imply". "Implication" is done by a person when making a "statement", whereas "inference" is done to a proposition after it had already been made or assumed. Secondly, the word "infer" can sometimes be used to mean "allude" or "express" in a suggestive manner rather than as a direct "statement". Using the word "infer" in this sense is now generally considered incorrect. [http://englishplus.com/grammar/00000232.htm
Synonyms
* assume, conclude, deduce, construe
Related terms
* inferable
* inference
* -ferous (-iferous)
Anagrams
*
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