as in guesses
an opinion or judgment based on little or no evidence
the many conjectures about the true identity of Jack the Ripper
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in estimates
to decide the size, amount, number, or distance of (something) without actual measurement
he conjectured that the theater could seat 1000 people more or less
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in assumes
to form an opinion from little or no evidence
you're only conjecturing that he was the culprit
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of conjectures
Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 25 May 2026
As part of the effort to prove these conjectures, Grothendieck proposed his notion of a scheme.
—Konstantin Kakaes, Quanta Magazine, 20 May 2026
Like an enzyme that works as a catalyst to speed up a chemical reaction, collaboration ignites new ideas for conjectures.
—Chase Hunter, Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2026
The project grew out of group head Ido Kaminer’s 2019 Ramanujan Machine, an AI bot that seeks out new conjectures for calculating mathematical constants.
—Lyndie Chiou, Scientific American, 13 Mar. 2026
With few clear signals about who has influence and how decisions are made, the halls of power in Beijing are fertile ground for political conjectures.
—Deng Yuwen, Foreign Affairs, 14 Nov. 2025
This is an intense ongoing study and there are many conjectures.
—Literary Hub, 14 Nov. 2025
Amenabar seems to root his screenplay on conjectures about the writer’s sexuality, which many scholars consider latterday projection.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 31 Oct. 2025
Rania Abouzeid, New Yorker, 21 May 2026
Broadly speaking, this is why Grothendieck and others could use schemes — and a series of ideas building on them — to re-prove one of the four Weil conjectures and prove two more.
—Konstantin Kakaes, Quanta Magazine, 20 May 2026
Leaving the hard numbers aside, conjectures about the effects of AI on individual companies are exactly that — conjectures.
—Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2026
There’s no end to conjectures about William Shakespeare’s life because there isn’t all that much definitive Shakespeareana to rake over.
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 28 Aug. 2025
Noun
There have been a lot of conjectures, but little in the way of actual proof of what took place.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 25 May 2026
As part of the effort to prove these conjectures, Grothendieck proposed his notion of a scheme.
—Konstantin Kakaes, Quanta Magazine, 20 May 2026
Like an enzyme that works as a catalyst to speed up a chemical reaction, collaboration ignites new ideas for conjectures.
—Chase Hunter, Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2026
The project grew out of group head Ido Kaminer’s 2019 Ramanujan Machine, an AI bot that seeks out new conjectures for calculating mathematical constants.
—Lyndie Chiou, Scientific American, 13 Mar. 2026
With few clear signals about who has influence and how decisions are made, the halls of power in Beijing are fertile ground for political conjectures.
—Deng Yuwen, Foreign Affairs, 14 Nov. 2025
This is an intense ongoing study and there are many conjectures.
—Literary Hub, 14 Nov. 2025
Amenabar seems to root his screenplay on conjectures about the writer’s sexuality, which many scholars consider latterday projection.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 31 Oct. 2025
Verb
Suspicion fell on Shiite families, though many dismissed these conjectures; in Ain el-Mreisseh, people know their neighbors.
—Rania Abouzeid, New Yorker, 21 May 2026
Broadly speaking, this is why Grothendieck and others could use schemes — and a series of ideas building on them — to re-prove one of the four Weil conjectures and prove two more.
—Konstantin Kakaes, Quanta Magazine, 20 May 2026
Leaving the hard numbers aside, conjectures about the effects of AI on individual companies are exactly that — conjectures.
—Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2026
There’s no end to conjectures about William Shakespeare’s life because there isn’t all that much definitive Shakespeareana to rake over.
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for conjectures
Noun
-
Use these clues to narrow down your guesses.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2026
-
Fans take their own stabs pro bono, posting to Reddit their predictions for the draft’s first round, or their bespoke guesses for all two hundred and fifty-seven picks.—
Dan Greene,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
The World Health Organization estimates that in the West Africa outbreak a decade ago, funeral practices may have contributed to 80% of cases in Sierra Leone and 60% of cases in Guinea.—
Gabrielle Emanuel,
NPR,
29 May 2026
-
Massive changes to Medicaid, the government’s safety-net health program for low-income Americans, passed into law last year could result in 10 million more uninsured individuals over a decade, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates.—
Mike Stobbe,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Ours is a pay-as-you-go system, and the IRS assumes that your income is received evenly throughout the year, says Mark Luscombe, principal analyst for Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting.—
Liz Weston,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 May 2026
-
As Bay Area News Group has reported, the county’s plan heavily relies on drawing down county cash reserves and assumes the recovery of millions in vehicle licensing revenues.—
Mercury News Editorial Board,
Mercury News,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
There are a lot of theories about Machado’s struggles.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 May 2026
-
Both theories are plausible, Cooper agreed.—
Sneha Dhandapani,
CNN Money,
30 May 2026
Verb
-
Antetokounmpo figures to have multiple teams in pursuit of his talents this summer, many of which will have far more draft assets in the cupboard to offer in a trade than Minnesota.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
26 May 2026
-
That would seem to be the prudent path, and Brown figures the experience already has been invaluable.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
26 May 2026
Verb
-
Farrell supposes that no high school baseball team in the nation has traveled as much as Orange Lutheran has.—
Steve Fryer,
Oc Register,
2 May 2026
-
Leo’s fine, one supposes, as evil plantation owner Calvin Candie, but the role is not a natural fit for him.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
That methodology removes the zig-zagging, and calculates a far more accurate PE.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
13 May 2026
-
The Social Security Administration calculates the COLA every year by comparing third-quarter CPI-W data to the third-quarter data of the previous year.—
Lorie Konish,
CNBC,
12 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Conjectures.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conjectures. Accessed 1 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
