as in assumes
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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Recent Examples of speculates
Meanwhile, White speculates that the Hong Kong funds also got pummeled by headwinds in the Yen-carry trade—which made their financing more expensive—and exposure to recent convulsions in the silver market.
—
Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 6 Feb. 2026
Christine Wilkinson, research associate with the California Academy of Sciences, speculates the coyote may have come from a pack that lives in San Francisco’s Coit Tower area, which has very little green space.
—Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2026
Mike speculates that their last look at Eleven was really Kali’s holographic illusion, which would explain why Eleven’s body seemed to vanish as the Upside Down exploded.
—Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 4 Jan. 2026
Lawson speculates that things may look different in the classroom 25 years from now with emerging technology, but that doesn’t need to be a bad thing.
—Nish Kohli, The Providence Journal, 3 Jan. 2026
Schneider also speculates that the YouTube-AMPAS pact will put pressure on the Television Academy to also deliver a game-changing deal.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 18 Dec. 2025
The Post speculates that the capsule was potentially built by Timothy Oulton Studio, the designer of a very similar stainless-steel model spaceship for seating in Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant in London — which is also weird but less sinister.
—Clio Chang, Curbed, 17 Dec. 2025
Windred speculates that there is extra stress put on both the cardiovascular system and metabolism by light when the body doesn’t expect it, and over time, that extra stress leads to damage.
—Veronique Greenwood, Time, 9 Dec. 2025
Dustin speculates that Vecna is killing people to open new gates to the real world from the Upside Down, meaning there are gates located in all the spots where Vecna's victims have died.
—Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 19 Nov. 2025
Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 6 Feb. 2026
Christine Wilkinson, research associate with the California Academy of Sciences, speculates the coyote may have come from a pack that lives in San Francisco’s Coit Tower area, which has very little green space.
—Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2026
Mike speculates that their last look at Eleven was really Kali’s holographic illusion, which would explain why Eleven’s body seemed to vanish as the Upside Down exploded.
—Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 4 Jan. 2026
Lawson speculates that things may look different in the classroom 25 years from now with emerging technology, but that doesn’t need to be a bad thing.
—Nish Kohli, The Providence Journal, 3 Jan. 2026
Schneider also speculates that the YouTube-AMPAS pact will put pressure on the Television Academy to also deliver a game-changing deal.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 18 Dec. 2025
The Post speculates that the capsule was potentially built by Timothy Oulton Studio, the designer of a very similar stainless-steel model spaceship for seating in Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant in London — which is also weird but less sinister.
—Clio Chang, Curbed, 17 Dec. 2025
Windred speculates that there is extra stress put on both the cardiovascular system and metabolism by light when the body doesn’t expect it, and over time, that extra stress leads to damage.
—Veronique Greenwood, Time, 9 Dec. 2025
Dustin speculates that Vecna is killing people to open new gates to the real world from the Upside Down, meaning there are gates located in all the spots where Vecna's victims have died.
—Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 19 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for speculates
Verb
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The newer model assumes that demand follows trust.—
Connie Etemadi,
USA Today,
7 Feb. 2026
-
Kerry Haigh will continue to serve as interim CEO until Clark assumes his role March 2.—
Eric Prisbell,
Dallas Morning News,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
There will be times when Bader guesses right and takes a good pass and hits a lineout.—
Andrew Baggarly,
New York Times,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Ho Jin is visibly un-enthused, and Uncle guesses Mu Hee has given him an unfavourable impression of them.—
Hannah Abraham,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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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
-
The first theory supposes that the Big Bang produced dense spots that didn’t collapse immediately.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Bill Maher thinks the bridge between him and Jimmy Kimmel might be burned for good.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Celestin thinks the trend will continue as Black voters start to realize where their goals align with the Republican Party.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The second reason is that progress narratives depend on an arc bending in a particular direction, which presumes the existence of a future end state.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Dec. 2025
-
The guidance presumes that the current tariff rates on all countries will stay in place for the remainder of 2025 and beyond.—
Vicki M. Young,
Footwear News,
18 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The commercial imagines what Jurassic Park might've looked like if the island had been powered by Xfinity's reliable Wi-Fi network.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Feb. 2026
-
The historical fiction imagines the Mexican and American armies fighting for control of the West — part myth, fact and fiction spanning the past and present.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Morgan correctly surmises that a misdelivered piece of mail was a move by the Game Master and not just a fuckup by the postal service.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
17 Sep. 2025
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In the study, Ned correctly surmises that Colum riled Dougal up into beating Malcolm so that Colum could be seen as the cooler head/better leader.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
8 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Lisa Simon, chief economist at Revelio Labs, which collects and analyzes public labor market data, also suspects that some companies are pointing to their use of AI to rationalize layoffs.—
Mary Cunningham,
CBS News,
3 Feb. 2026
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McGuire, the University of Utah chief resident, suspects some of the hype comes down to pop science podcasting and its business model.—
Sara Talpos — Undark,
STAT,
3 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Speculates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/speculates. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
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