Inductive Argument
GMAT glossary · Verbal Reasoning
Definition
An argument whose premises support but do not guarantee the conclusion.
Inductive Argument in plain English
An inductive argument builds its case by piling up evidence that makes a conclusion likely, but never 100% certain. Think of a detective: every clue points to the butler, so it's a reasonable bet, yet there's still a sliver of a chance someone else did it. That's the key feature: the premises can all be true and the conclusion still turn out wrong. This differs from a 'deductive' argument, where true premises guarantee the conclusion (like 'all cats are mammals, so this cat is a mammal').
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