speculate

verb

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spec·u·late | \ ˈspe-kyə-ˌlāt

speculated; speculating

Definition of speculate

intransitive verb

1a : to meditate on or ponder a subject : reflect

b : to review something idly or casually and often inconclusively

2 : to assume a business risk in hope of gain especially : to make a relatively risky investment in something (such as stocks or real estate) in the hope of making a large short-term profit 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

Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym Did you know? More Example Sentences Learn More About speculate

Choose the Right Synonym for 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

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, meaning "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.

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 on the Web Some Western analysts speculate that Mr. Putin may instead point to the territory that Moscow has already seized in eastern Ukraine to bolster his false claims that Russia is liberating the region from Nazis. — New York Times, 6 May 2022 Others speculate that the statue is a likeness of Sextus Pompey, son of Pompey the Great, who formed the first triumvirate along with Julius Caesar and Marcus Crassus. — Elizabeth Djinis, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 May 2022 In the hall, some attendees speculate about how many trillions of dollars of assets under management are represented at this year’s conference. — Chase Peterson-withorn, Forbes, 5 May 2022 The researchers speculate that much of the rest of the differences between dogs comes down to individual experiences, training and other environmental factors. — Katie Shepherd, Anchorage Daily News, 30 Apr. 2022 Some speculate that notifications in iOS 16 will offer better and more grouping options. — Yoni Heisler, BGR, 23 Apr. 2022 Although a definitive cause of extinction is not known, scientists speculate that habitat loss and destructive fishing of other sea-life (like scallops) had a hand in their demise. — Daisy Hernandez, Popular Mechanics, 21 Apr. 2022 Many prominent analysts speculate that Bitcoin may eventually take over gold's role as a store of value and long-term inflation hedge. — Robert Samuels | For Iron Monk Solutions, The Salt Lake Tribune, 18 Apr. 2022 Some analysts speculate that Musk is banking on power users like himself – those with the biggest followings – to get more people to tune into Twitter. — Jessica Guynn And Terry Collins, USA TODAY, 14 Apr. 2022 See More

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.