1. relating to or having the nature of illation or inference - the illative faculty of the mind • Syn: inferential • Pertains to noun: inference, inference (for: inferential) • Derivationally related forms: inference (for: inferential) 2. resembling or dependent on or arrived at by inference - an illative conclusion - inferential reasoning • Syn: inferential • Similar to: deductive • Derivationally related forms: inference (for: inferential) 3. expressing or preceding an inference - 'therefore' is an illative word • Similar to: deductive • Topics: grammar