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conjecture was our Word of the Day on 10/06/2012. Hear the podcast!
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Examples of conjecture in a Sentence
- 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
- … 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
- 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
- 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
The biography includes conjectures about the writer's earliest ambitions.
a conjecture about the extent of the injury
Most of the book is conjecture, not fact.
Recent Examples of conjecture from the Web
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One active area of research creates an end run around the SYZ conjecture.
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One of the reasons for that conjecture stems from Weltman’s tenure as a Raptors front-office executive.
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In the negative sense of conjecture, the sixteenth century.
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Each tentacle represents one of the branches of the conjecture.
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One, called the Weil conjectures, was solved by the Belgian mathematician Pierre Deligne, who received the 2013 Abel Prize for that work.
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Yet that conjecture speaks to SETI’s central irony.
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No one knows, but after years of supposition and pie-in-the-sky conjecture from planners and passengers alike, BART officials are starting to study a second Transbay Tube.
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What the Italians were doing in isolated Tecalitlan — 100 miles south of Guadalajara — has remained a matter of mystery and conjecture.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'conjecture.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
conjecture Synonyms
Synonyms
guess, shot, supposition, surmise;
Related Words
hypothesis, hypothetical, theory, thesis;
Phrases
shot in the dark;
Other Logic Terms
Definition of conjecture
conjectured;
conjecturing
play
\kən-ˈjek-chə-riŋ, -ˈjek-shriŋ\
2
: to make conjectures as to
- conjecture the meaning of a statement
: to form conjectures
Examples of conjecture in a Sentence
- It is fashionable now to conjecture that the Big Bang was caused by a random quantum fluctuation in a vacuum devoid of space and time. —Martin Gardner, Skeptical Inquirer, November/December 1998
- Despairing of assistance and protection from below (as they foolishly conjecture) they talk of capitulating and coming upon terms with the French and Indians … —George Washington 24 Apr. 1776, in The Papers of George Washington, 1984
- … their traces left for future archaeologists to rediscover and perhaps to wonder or conjecture over. —Jane Jacobs, Cities and the Wealth of Nations, 1984
- I am anxious to conjecture beforehand what may be expected from the sowing turneps [sic] in jaded ground, how much from the acre, & how large they will be? —Thomas Jefferson, letter, 29 Dec. 1794
Some have conjectured that the distant planet could sustain life.
We only conjecture about his motives.
Recent Examples of conjecture from the Web
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Preservationists angrily reject the mayor’s figures, conjecturing a far lower cost to keep the bridge open just for pedestrians and bikes.
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As colliders and detectors have failed to turn up the particles these theories conjecture, the models have been tweaked and ever-larger colliders and detectors have been put to work testing them.
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The result is a strange alchemy of imagined past, misunderstood present, and weirdly conjectured future.
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Cooing over the launch of Tabitha Simmons bridal, many a married guest conjectured bigamy if only to secure the heart-skipping satins, the blush mink slide, or the inky velvet Victorian-style bootie with grosgrain ribbons.
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Despite the ongoing investigation, some media outlets and others have conjectured that Sheila was the victim of a 'probable suicide.'
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Thus Beyoncé, with a 26-inch (non-pregnant) waist and 40-inch hips, comes close to that scientific ideal at 0.65, the Daily Mail conjectured.
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Wall Street analysts conjectured about blockbuster sales.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'conjecture.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
When the noun "conjecture" entered English in the 14th century, it referred to the act of interpreting signs or omens (as for making prognostications). That sense is now obsolete, but by the 16th century both the noun and verb "conjecture" had acquired the meanings of speculation and inference that we use today. "Conjecture" derived via Middle English and Middle French from the Latin verb conicere ("to throw together"), a combination of "com-" ("together") and "jacere" ("to throw").
Origin and Etymology of conjecture
see 1conjecture
NEW! Time Traveler
First Known Use: 15th century
in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1
See Words from the same yearconjecture Synonyms
Near Antonyms
demonstrate, document, establish, prove, substantiate, validate;
Related Words
conclude, deduce, gather, infer;
hypothecate, hypothesize, theorize;
believe, conceive, expect, judge, reckon [chiefly dialect], take, think;
CONJECTURE Defined for English Language Learners
Definition of conjecture for English Language Learners
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: an opinion or idea formed without proof or sufficient evidence
conjecture
Definition of conjecture for English Language Learners
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: to form an opinion or idea without proof or sufficient evidence
CONJECTURE Defined for Kids
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