speculate

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verb spec·u·late \ˈspe-kyə-ˌlāt\

Definition of speculate

speculated

;

speculating

intransitive verb
1a : to meditate on or ponder a subject : reflectb : to review something idly or casually and often inconclusively
2 : to assume a business risk in hope of gain; especially : to buy or sell in expectation of profiting from market fluctuations
transitive verb
1 : to take to be true on the basis of insufficient evidence : theorize
2 : to be curious or doubtful about : wonder speculates whether it will rain all vacation

speculator

play \ˈspe-kyə-ˌlā-tər\ noun

See speculate defined for English-language learners

See speculate defined for kids

speculate was our Word of the Day on 05/22/2014. Hear the podcast!

Examples of speculate in a Sentence

She could only speculate about her friend's motives.
He speculated as to whether she would come.
We don't know what happened—we can only speculate.
speculating on the stock market

Recent Examples of speculate from the Web

Since the Inauguration, many outlets have speculated about the Ivanka's influence on her father's decision making in regards to climate change, working families and women's issues.

— veronica hilbring, Essence.com, "West Wing Dweller And Presidential Advisor Ivanka Trump: 'I Try To Stay Out Of Politics’", 26 June 2017
According to MTV News, Metallica's drummer, Lars Ulrich, was also onstage, leading fans to speculate that the band might be in A Star Is Born, alongside Cooper and Lady Gaga.

— amy mackelden, Harper's BAZAAR, "Bradley Cooper Just Performed at Glastonbury so Prepare to Swoon", 24 June 2017
Some fans speculate this storyline will even involve the introduction of an ice dragon — a legendary creature in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series (the books on which Thrones is based) that breathes cold rather than fire.

— megan mccluskey, Time, "Here's Every Major Theory About Game of Thrones Season 7", 21 June 2017
Some commenters speculated that there are simply fewer images of William holding Charlotte, as Duchess Kate is most often seen holding their daughter (although, one user proved this theory wrong).

— lauren smith, House Beautiful, "The Royal Family Is Getting Backlash Over Their Father's Day Photo", 20 June 2017
The possibility of the team skipping the White House visit in the event of winning the NBA title has been speculated online for months, given the criticism of President Donald Trump from Curry and Warriors coach Steve Kerr.

— lavendrick smith, charlotteobserver, "Steph Curry not in favor of visiting Trump. What social media thinks.", 15 June 2017
Tewelow said many people have speculated on possible motives in the killing.

— alejandra matos, Washington Post, "At funeral, slain 18-year-old Artem Ziberov recalled as smart, humorous student", 10 June 2017
In recent years, many have begun to speculate about the future of the monarchy, given how few members of the royal family remain.

— aria bendix, The Atlantic, "Japan's Lower Parliament Passes Law Allowing Its Emperor to Abdicate", 2 June 2017
Ten months into his tenure, however, General dela Rosa is still speculating that the murders by motorcycle-riding gunmen are drug dealers killing each other.

— aurora almendral, New York Times, "The General Running Duterte’s Antidrug War", 2 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'speculate'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Speculate was adopted into English in the late 16th century from Latin speculatus, the past participle of the verb speculari, which means "to spy out" or "to examine." Speculari, in turn, derives from specula, meaning "lookout post," and ultimately from the Latin verb specere, "to look (at)." Other conspicuous descendants of specere are inspect and suspect. Some less obvious descendants are the words despise, species, specimen, and, as you may have speculated, conspicuous.

Origin and Etymology of speculate

Latin speculatus, past participle of speculari to spy out, examine, from specula lookout post, from specere to look, look at — more at spy

NEW!

First Known Use: 1599

See Words from the same year

Synonym Discussion of speculate

think, cogitate, reflect, reason, speculate, deliberate mean to use one's powers of conception, judgment, or inference. think is general and may apply to any mental activity, but used alone often suggests attainment of clear ideas or conclusions. teaches students how to think cogitate implies deep or intent thinking. cogitated on the mysteries of nature reflect suggests unhurried consideration of something recalled to the mind. reflecting on fifty years of married life reason stresses consecutive logical thinking. able to reason brilliantly in debate speculate implies reasoning about things theoretical or problematic. speculated on the fate of the lost explorers deliberate suggests slow or careful reasoning before forming an opinion or reaching a conclusion or decision. the jury deliberated for five hours

SPECULATE Defined for English Language Learners

speculate

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verb

Definition of speculate for English Language Learners

: to think about something and make guesses about it : to form ideas or theories about something usually when there are many things not known about it
: to invest money in ways that could produce a large profit but that also involve a lot of risk

SPECULATE Defined for Kids

speculate

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verb spec·u·late \ˈspe-kyə-ˌlāt\

Definition of speculate for Students

speculated

;

speculating

1 : to think or wonder about something
2 : to come up with ideas or theories about something
3 : to engage in a risky but possibly very profitable business deal

Law Dictionary

speculate

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verb spec·u·late \ˈspe-kyə-ˌlāt\

Legal Definition of speculate

speculated

speculating

intransitive verb
1 : to theorize on the basis of insufficient evidence Editor's note: A jury is not permitted to speculate on a matter about which insufficient evidence has been presented in reaching its verdict.
2 : to assume a business risk in hope of gain; especially : to buy or sell in expectation of profiting from market fluctuations
transitive verb
: to take to be true on the basis of insufficient evidence