inferentialist

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adjective

Of, pertaining to or supporting a belief in the primary importance of inference to any account of meaning

Opposite
representationalist
Scrabble 17
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Meanings

adjectiveinferentialist (comparative more inferentialist, superlative most inferentialist)

comparative more inferentialist · superlative most inferentialist

  1. human sciencesOf, pertaining to or supporting a belief in the primary importance of inference to any account of meaning

    This, I suggest, is why two-dimensionalism requires an inferentialist account of recognition.

    2008 January 8, Markos Valaris, “Two-dimensionalism and the epistemology of recognition”, in Philosophical Studies, volume 142, number 3, →DOI
nouninferentialist (plural inferentialists)

plural inferentialists

  1. A supporter of inferentialism

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite
representationalist

Origin

From inferential + -ist. Coined by the philosopher Robert Brandom to describe his own theory, and since applied more widely.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

inferentialist. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inferentialist

MLA

“inferentialist.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inferentialist. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “inferentialist,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inferentialist.

Source: inferentialist on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.