Definition of speculation
: an act or instance of speculating: such asa : assumption of unusual business risk in hopes of obtaining commensurate gainb : a transaction involving such speculation
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Examples of speculation in a Sentence
He dismissed their theories as mere speculation.
The book is just a lot of idle speculation about the future.
Her speculations leave many questions unanswered.
He lost everything in foolish land speculation.
Recent Examples of speculation from the Web
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Cards seems to be asking to be taken as a work of punditry once again—or at least, as relevant speculation about what might happen once the truth has lost its hold, and winning has become all that matters.
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Element’s sell-off, on unfounded speculation, may be a sign that cracks are appearing in Canada’s equity market, Block said.
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Asked Tuesday whether her meetings with senior officials from India and China this week signaled a pivot away from Germany’s old ally in Washington, Merkel sought to dampen speculation of a major rift.
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Asked Tuesday whether her meetings with senior officials from India and China this week signaled a pivot away from Germany's old ally in Washington, Merkel sought to dampen speculation of a major rift.
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Speculation grew that the reactor may never be fired up again, that it might be filled with concrete and junked; a monument to the failsafe system that failed.
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The commander of the army, Gen. Eduardo Dias da Costa Villas Boas, then wrote on Twitter that the armed forces remained committed to hewing to the constitution, essentially swatting down speculation about a potential coup.
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All this wild speculation could culminate in an honest-to-God presidential campaign.
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Rouzie rejected any speculation about transforming the events center into a casino.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'speculation'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
14th Century
First Known Use of speculation
14th century
Other Economics Terms
SPECULATION Defined for English Language Learners
speculation
playDefinition of speculation for English Language Learners
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: ideas or guesses about something that is not known
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: activity in which someone buys and sells things (such as stocks or pieces of property) in the hope of making a large profit but with the risk of a large loss
SPECULATION Defined for Kids
Law Dictionary
speculation
playLegal Definition of speculation
: an act or instance of speculating: as a : assumption of unusual business risk in hopes of obtaining commensurate gain b : a transaction involving such speculation
Learn More about speculation
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See words that rhyme with speculation Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for speculation Spanish Central: Translation of speculation Nglish: Translation of speculation for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of speculation for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about speculation
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