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Sometimes I get confused whether to use figure or figure out.
Example:
Cynthia didn't blame his dad for being so quiet. She just figured (out) some fathers found it more difficult to communicate with their daughters than others.
I'm not sure which one I should use. Is there a way of knowing when to use the first and when the latter?
She just figured some fathers...
In this case just is synonymous with simply.
She just figured out some fathers...
In this case just is synonymous with very recently.
Figure tends to mean realised or thought.
Figure out tends to mean solve.
to figure means :
to appear, rather conspicuously
to represent (on a paper, in imagination, etc.)
to ascertain (US-English)
to figure out means :
to work out by mathematics
to estimate
to understand
to figure on is US-English, meaning to expect, to count upon
In your example, it means that she realized (and admitted) that ...
