Glossary
inference
An inference is a conclusion the passage supports without stating it: one step from the words on the page, not an added fact and not your own opinion.
An inference is what a passage lets you conclude without having said it. The passage supplies the evidence and the reader takes the step. The office was dark and the door was locked supports the inference that nobody was working, even though nothing states it.
One step is an inference; two steps is an opinion. Every inference question is answerable from a sentence the passage actually contains, and the right choice is the smallest step away from that sentence. If a choice needs a second fact the passage never mentions, or needs something you happen to know about the world, it is your own addition rather than an inference.
Expect stems built on suggest, imply, most likely and can be inferred, and expect the trap to work in both directions. A choice can reach too far and become an opinion, or stay too literal and merely restate a sentence — which the question did not ask for.
Taught in
Related terms
- main idea — The main idea is the central claim a passage is built to support — what the author wants you to take away, and what the other sentences exist to prove.
Source: Official ASVAB — subtest descriptions (what each subtest asks) and the CAT-ASVAB scored-question counts (accessed 2026-09)