SPECULATED Synonyms: 34 Similar and Opposite Words

speculated

verb

past tense of speculate

as in guessed

to form an opinion from little or no evidence I speculate that someone has been using this cabin as a trysting place

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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 speculated While the original early renderings speculated that the shoe would use a black-and-orange colorway, the official look confirms a bold red shade in place of orange for a Black/Picante Red combination. — Riley Jones, Footwear News, 22 Aug. 2026 Some championed the brand’s decision to embrace the category, and expected other brands to soon follow suit, while others speculated that Rolex and its retail partners could struggle as a result of intense price competition in the secondary market. — Victoria Gomelsky, Robb Report, 20 Aug. 2026 However, some fans have speculated that JJ was killed off because of an alleged feud between Pankow and Bailey. — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 20 Aug. 2026 Some speculated that Burke had killed his sister because of jealousy or that the two had fought over a late-night snack of pineapple and that Burke had fatally struck her with an object. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Aug. 2026 But if the goal was to affect markets — some have speculated that the aim was to influence prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket to affect the odds on bets in the mayoral race — then that could be considered fraud, Yeargain said. — Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2026 Starting corners who have been speculated as potential trade candidates this summer around the NFL include Kansas City’s Kristian Fulton and Denver’s Riley Moss. — Jon MacHota, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026 For weeks leading up to Middleton’s 2011 wedding to Prince William and Meghan Markle’s 2018 wedding to Prince Harry, royal watchers speculated whether either bride would wear their late mother-in-law’s bridal tiara. — Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 17 Aug. 2026 For decades, many speculated Taylor had been poisoned with arsenic, as his sudden death happened during an intense political crisis over slavery. — Sophie Clausen, PEOPLE, 17 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for speculated

Verb

The big reason passkeys are safer is that they can't be stolen, copied, or guessed.

— Jon Martindale, PC Magazine, 7 Aug. 2026
Sometimes PLCs have no passwords or easily guessed ones, security experts told CBS News.

— Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of guessed

Verb

At the extreme upper end, the study found that a maximum possible prevalence of CTE — if researchers assumed that every former football player had CTE except for the 20 whose brains had definitively been cleared of a diagnosis — was around 97%.

— Becky Sullivan, NPR, 25 Aug. 2026
Taylor has quickly assumed a leadership role, with her coach using her as an example of expectations.

— Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of assumed

Verb

Forty of those have been delivered, Skibitskiy said, and two are suspected to have been used in Radushne, in the Dnipro Region, on 30 July in an attack that killed at least four children from the same family.

— Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
Solove argued that even with shorter retention periods and internal auditing requirements, the underlying system still collects information on large numbers of people who are not suspected of crimes.

— Zachary Bynum, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of suspected

Verb

Many of those thought to have been involved in Shakur’s fatal shooting have since died.

— Lisa Respers France, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026
Kaleigh Theriault, beverage alcohol thought leader at NielsenIQ, told Food & Wine that the shift is already showing up in industry numbers.

— Hanna Wickes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of thought

Verb

Despite the middling score in the economic category, WalletHub’s analysis surmised that Fremont’s happiness is bolstered by its high share (nearly 80%) of households with an income above $75,000.

— Bay Area News Group, Mercury News, 3 Aug. 2026
One rival executive who has spoken with Preller recently surmised that the initial ask would be at least two top-100 prospects.

— Dennis Lin, New York Times, 23 July 2026