as in guessing
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 speculating
Analysts have also been speculating that Nike may put Converse up for sale, although chief executive officer Elliott is bullish in saying that won’t happen.
—
Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 17 June 2026
Insiders have been speculating for months over who could succeed Turness, with frontrunners said to include Channel 4 News editor Esme Wren and Louisa Compton, Channel 4’s head of news and current affairs.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 17 June 2026
Then Facebook and Instagram happened — and a new generation of Haitians began speculating about the identity of the boy in the photograph.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 13 June 2026
Details about the preliminary finding spurred stories speculating about Robinson’s possible exoneration.
—ABC News, 12 June 2026
Resurgent inflation is also likely to keep the Federal Reserve on the sidelines, with some Wall Street economists speculating that policy makers are more likely to hike interest rates than to cut them.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 11 June 2026
Reports subsequently emerged in the press speculating the target could be Alvarez, though neither Real Madrid nor the player’s camp confirmed anything to The Athletic.
—Jessica Hopkins, New York Times, 9 June 2026
The double wear of American designers has some royal watchers speculating that Princess Kate is hinting that a trip across the pond is on the agenda in the near future.
—Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 3 June 2026
The first issue of Publick Occurrences contained a few items of local news and, notably, one salacious sentence speculating that King Louis XIV of France was sleeping with his son’s wife.
—Adrienne Lafrance, The Atlantic, 1 June 2026
Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 17 June 2026
Insiders have been speculating for months over who could succeed Turness, with frontrunners said to include Channel 4 News editor Esme Wren and Louisa Compton, Channel 4’s head of news and current affairs.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 17 June 2026
Then Facebook and Instagram happened — and a new generation of Haitians began speculating about the identity of the boy in the photograph.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 13 June 2026
Details about the preliminary finding spurred stories speculating about Robinson’s possible exoneration.
—ABC News, 12 June 2026
Resurgent inflation is also likely to keep the Federal Reserve on the sidelines, with some Wall Street economists speculating that policy makers are more likely to hike interest rates than to cut them.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 11 June 2026
Reports subsequently emerged in the press speculating the target could be Alvarez, though neither Real Madrid nor the player’s camp confirmed anything to The Athletic.
—Jessica Hopkins, New York Times, 9 June 2026
The double wear of American designers has some royal watchers speculating that Princess Kate is hinting that a trip across the pond is on the agenda in the near future.
—Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 3 June 2026
The first issue of Publick Occurrences contained a few items of local news and, notably, one salacious sentence speculating that King Louis XIV of France was sleeping with his son’s wife.
—Adrienne Lafrance, The Atlantic, 1 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for speculating
Verb
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But that’s what makes this trip so special—the ever-changing landscape that keeps you guessing at every turn.—
Rebecca Deurlein,
Travel + Leisure,
17 June 2026
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Here’s guessing Kelce is not doing as much wedding planning as Swift.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
17 June 2026
Verb
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People also tend to confuse fragrance intensity with cleanliness, assuming a strong smell means a deeper clean.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Sacbee.com,
23 June 2026
-
Investors will take riskier positions, assuming the central bank will save them from their own mistakes.—
Erik Sherman,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2026
Verb
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So Boutros, no doubt suspecting political preconceptions at work, addressed the grand jurors himself.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
11 June 2026
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Prosecutors argued that Chow acted out of anger after wrongly suspecting Cyrus of stealing the water, according to the AP.—
Christina Coulter,
PEOPLE,
2 June 2026
Verb
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Even supposing the pledges in the 1990s documents amounted to a crime, the legal deadline for bringing mortgage fraud charges has expired.—
Aysha Bagchi,
USA Today,
8 Dec. 2025
Verb
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For his part, Joe doesn’t seem to be thinking about his issues with Nathan half as much as Nathan or Gael are.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
23 June 2026
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The crash was not an accident, Adams said, because Pino violated several navigational rules — and piloted the boat without thinking about the well-being of his wife, daughter and the 11 girls on the boat.—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
22 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Speculating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/speculating. Accessed 25 Jun. 2026.
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