speculation

noun

spec·u·la·tion ˌspe-kyə-ˈlā-shən

Synonyms of speculation next

: an act or instance of speculating: such as

: assumption of unusual business risk in hopes of obtaining commensurate gain

: a transaction involving such speculation

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 on the Web Just a day earlier, as a second round of hostage releases was nearing, 11th-hour complications prompted speculation that the deal might be dead. —

Aaron Boxerman, New York Times, 26 Nov. 2023 As each of the residents is interviewed (à la Tiger King), theories about Moriarty's fate abound, including speculations that he was fed to the pub owner Barry Sharpe's pet crocodile, or baked into Hodgetts' famous meat pies. —

Refinery29 Australia Team, refinery29.com, 23 Nov. 2023 Celebrity Babies Born in 2023 Foster — daughter of David Foster and Rebecca Dyer — addressed pregnancy speculation in July after sharing an Instagram Story, striking a pose in an airplane selfie. —

Angela Andaloro, Peoplemag, 23 Nov. 2023 The announcement will likely renew speculation over succession at the luxury company, which is currently headed by 74-year-old Bernard Arnault, the world’s second-wealthiest person according to the Bloomberg Billionaires index. —

Angelina Rascouet, Fortune Europe, 22 Nov. 2023 Because the original set had not been seen since Diana's death, the speculation continued to bubble, although Lauren Kiehna of The Court Jeweller blog was always adamant that the earrings were two separate pairs. —

Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 15 Nov. 2023 Huh? Really a bit ghoulish and completely unnecessary speculation on what poor Finney ate. —

Timothy Bella, Washington Post, 14 Nov. 2023 There was much speculation before that draft about whether the Rams would take Goff or Wentz. —

Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times, 10 Nov. 2023 There’s been intense speculation about just what’s behind the dearth of hip-hop at the top of the charts this year. —

Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 7 Nov. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'speculation.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.