conjecture

¹con·jec·ture

noun \kən-ˈjek-chər\

Definition of CONJECTURE

1

obsolete a : interpretation of omens b : supposition

2

a : inference from defective or presumptive evidence b : a conclusion deduced by surmise or guesswork c : a proposition (as in mathematics) before it has been proved or disproved

Examples of CONJECTURE

1. The biography includes conjectures about the writer's earliest ambitions.
2. a conjecture about the extent of the injury
3. Most of the book is conjecture, not fact.
4. Whether Columbus brought syphilis to the New World—or to the Old World—has been the subject of conjecture for at least 500 years. —Carl Zimmer, Science, 11 May 2001
5. … their voices rose in a chorus of conjecture and alarm, repeating the selfsame remark: “What is she going to do? I mean, is Betty going to faint?” —Edna O'Brien, New Yorker, 1 Jan. 1990
6. The reason why the French with superior man-power and American resources were doing so poorly was not beyond all conjecture. —Barbara W. Tuchman, The March of Folly, 1984
7. Peculiar features of early maps, which may have been nothing but a draftsman's whimsy, have inspired pages of vain conjecture. —Samuel Eliot Morison, The European Discovery of America, 1971

Origin of CONJECTURE

Middle English, from Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin conjectura, from conjectus, past participle of conicere, literally, to throw together, from com- + jacere to throw — more at jet

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to CONJECTURE

Synonyms: guess, shot, supposition, surmise, shot in the dark

Related Words: hypothesis, hypothetical, theory, thesis; dead reckoning, guessing, guesswork, speculation; hunch, intuition; belief, faith

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Other Logic Terms

a posteriori, connotation, corollary, inference, mutually exclusive, paradox, postulate, syllogism

Rhymes with CONJECTURE

prefecture