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
Two months later, chairman Lord Triesman, who passed away earlier this year, was forced to quit after being recorded speculating about referees being bribed at the World Cup.
—
Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 2 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
Ahead of the release, Latto has been sharing Instagram collab posts with several artists, leaving fans speculating on whether they are featured on the album.
—Taylor Ardrey, USA Today, 28 May 2026
News about Kelce’s new investment comes as people have started speculating about a possible prenup between the two.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 27 May 2026
As Imax appears up for sale with early-stage talks with possible suitors, financial analysts have lost no time speculating on who may be a likely buyer.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 22 May 2026
Fans have spent the past few months feverishly speculating about who the band will hire.
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 22 May 2026
The main tune of those speculating about Brown is that he will be traded to a new squad before the start of the year.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 19 May 2026
Meanwhile, some in the media are wildly speculating that this is somehow magical, miraculous, or a sign of sentience.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 2 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
Ahead of the release, Latto has been sharing Instagram collab posts with several artists, leaving fans speculating on whether they are featured on the album.
—Taylor Ardrey, USA Today, 28 May 2026
News about Kelce’s new investment comes as people have started speculating about a possible prenup between the two.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 27 May 2026
As Imax appears up for sale with early-stage talks with possible suitors, financial analysts have lost no time speculating on who may be a likely buyer.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 22 May 2026
Fans have spent the past few months feverishly speculating about who the band will hire.
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 22 May 2026
The main tune of those speculating about Brown is that he will be traded to a new squad before the start of the year.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 19 May 2026
Meanwhile, some in the media are wildly speculating that this is somehow magical, miraculous, or a sign of sentience.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for speculating
Verb
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But the brothers - who like to keep their followers guessing - have yet to confirm their attendance at the forum.—
Andrew Osborn,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
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Many of us had been guessing that the centerpiece shoot-out confrontation of the third season would be between Laurie and Alamo’s crews.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
1 June 2026
Verb
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Massamba Diop has one of the highest ceilings of any transfer, and Braden Huff returns with the best hook shot in college hoops (assuming JT Toppin doesn’t play this season).—
CJ Moore
June 2,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
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How data has helped root out discrimination The more imminent change, assuming the EEOC's proposals go forward, is the demise of the agency's annual collection of employee demographics.—
Andrea Hsu,
NPR,
1 June 2026
Verb
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On May 28, 2023, Chow and his son, Andy Chow, pursued Cormack-Belton out of their Columbia, South Carolina, convenience store after suspecting him of shoplifting.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
2 June 2026
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Three people suspecting in a series of pickpocket crimes in San Francisco's Chinatown were arrested over the weekend after a weeks-long investigation, police said Tuesday.—
Carlos E. Castañeda,
CBS News,
19 May 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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When Quibi launched in April 2020 and went dark by December 2020, that failure caused a deep freeze among media companies thinking of launching short-form video content.—
Frank Racioppi,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
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Another solution may simply be thinking about fertilizer differently, Biswas says.—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen,
Scientific American,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Speculating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/speculating. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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