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
Microsoft Bank of America remains most constructive on Microsoft, noting that the company doesn't rely on speculative long-term promises to justify its AI investments.
—
Alex Harring,yun Li, CNBC, 31 Oct. 2025
The information was corroborated by House of Heat, whose speculative mock-ups appear in the image above.
—Riley Jones, Footwear News, 29 Oct. 2025
Spirit does not seem to be financially sustainable and that might scare off other airlines except for a potential speculative lowball offer.
—Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2025
Our community has wasted a lot of time searching after speculative ideas.
—Zack Savitsky, Quanta Magazine, 29 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for speculative
Alex Harring,yun Li, CNBC, 31 Oct. 2025
The information was corroborated by House of Heat, whose speculative mock-ups appear in the image above.
—Riley Jones, Footwear News, 29 Oct. 2025
Spirit does not seem to be financially sustainable and that might scare off other airlines except for a potential speculative lowball offer.
—Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2025
Our community has wasted a lot of time searching after speculative ideas.
—Zack Savitsky, Quanta Magazine, 29 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for speculative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for speculative
Adjective
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In non-hypothetical basketball news, the episode also dives into the WNBA’s moment of unprecedented growth.—
J.J. Bailey,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
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Early last month, text messages from 2022 show Jay Jones, the Democratic nominee for attorney general and a former member of the Virginia legislature, describing hypothetical violence against a political opponent.—
Jahd Khalil,
NPR,
2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The results offer crucial confirmation for theoretical models about how magnetic turbulence carries and dissipates energy in the sun's upper atmosphere, Morton added.—
Sharmila Kuthunur,
Space.com,
4 Nov. 2025
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This is not a theoretical concern.—
David Miliband,
Time,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Projections of economic gains from major sporting events are typically optimistic, euphoric, chimerical or conjectural.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
19 June 2025
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That statistic is somewhat conjectural, since the vast majority of rapes in India are apparently not reported.—
Mark Jenkins,
Washington Post,
7 Nov. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Speculative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/speculative. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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