as in hypothetical
existing only as an assumption or speculation
a speculative explanation of why this ancient pottery was found hundreds of miles from where it was made
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Recent Examples of speculative
There are three tiers, and the middle level is for developing firms and the lowest is Pink, where JD had traded previously and was considered the most speculative grade of the OTC market.
—
Vicki M. Young,
Footwear News,
25 June 2026
Wet paint auctions feel like a distant memory, with frivolous, speculative art buying, especially from 2020 to 2022, now being passé.
—
George Nelson,
ARTnews.com,
24 June 2026
Federal prosecutors in New York, in a sweeping rebuttal spanning nearly 100 pages, called her claims speculative, factually erroneous and procedurally barred, according to a May 19 filing that was also unsealed Wednesday.
—
James Hill,
ABC News,
24 June 2026
That’s in large part due to its steep investments in cryptocurrencies, tying the value of its operations to speculative assets that have also been plummeting this year.
—
Victor Tangermann,
Futurism,
24 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for speculative
Vicki M. Young,
Footwear News,
25 June 2026
Wet paint auctions feel like a distant memory, with frivolous, speculative art buying, especially from 2020 to 2022, now being passé.
—
George Nelson,
ARTnews.com,
24 June 2026
Federal prosecutors in New York, in a sweeping rebuttal spanning nearly 100 pages, called her claims speculative, factually erroneous and procedurally barred, according to a May 19 filing that was also unsealed Wednesday.
—
James Hill,
ABC News,
24 June 2026
That’s in large part due to its steep investments in cryptocurrencies, tying the value of its operations to speculative assets that have also been plummeting this year.
—
Victor Tangermann,
Futurism,
24 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for speculative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for speculative
Adjective
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China has ratcheted up pressure on Tokyo after comments by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo, which drew criticism from Beijing.
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The workshop’s facilitators posed a series of hypothetical adversarial actions, or vignettes, to the participants.
Adjective
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When people see that scams can be built around them specifically, security habits stop feeling theoretical and start feeling necessary.
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After machine learning identified promising candidates, researchers verified them through theoretical calculations before synthesizing and experimentally confirming the materials.
Adjective
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The first two questions are too hypothetical and conjectural.
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Projections of economic gains from major sporting events are typically optimistic, euphoric, chimerical or conjectural.
Cite this Entry
“Speculative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/speculative. Accessed 3 Jul. 2026.
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