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
Investors may choose gold for stability and portfolio diversification, whereas silver may appeal to those speculating on economic growth.
—
Sharon Wu, USA Today, 10 Mar. 2026
Without Mahomes — and many other injured teammates — Kelce continued to play in the final three games with the outside world speculating about his future.
—Jesse Newell, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2026
Some observers are speculating that this customer may be the Virginia company BlackSky, which operates a constellation of sharp-eyed Earth-observation satellites.
—Mike Wall, Space.com, 6 Mar. 2026
After a vague, mid-February social media post got fans speculating if Curtis had accidentally spilled the beans that the upcoming fifth season of the culinary dramedy would be its last, the Emmy winner seems to be doubling down on her comments.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Mar. 2026
Viewers were speculating that another important death from the books, that of Marina Thompson (Ruby Barker), could be a possibility from the shots of Benedict’s black clothing.
—Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 26 Feb. 2026
Shell building is her way of considering the question, testing it, and speculating.
—Literary Hub, 23 Feb. 2026
Valerie Krystine Muniz, who identified herself on social media as Addi’s aunt and the sister of her father, urged people to stop speculating as the family grieves.
—Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 17 Feb. 2026
With the penultimate hour now streaming, only one episode remains, and, without any renewal news to say otherwise, fans are speculating this could be the end of the saga from creator Meaghan Oppenheimer.
—Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 11 Feb. 2026
Sharon Wu, USA Today, 10 Mar. 2026
Without Mahomes — and many other injured teammates — Kelce continued to play in the final three games with the outside world speculating about his future.
—Jesse Newell, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2026
Some observers are speculating that this customer may be the Virginia company BlackSky, which operates a constellation of sharp-eyed Earth-observation satellites.
—Mike Wall, Space.com, 6 Mar. 2026
After a vague, mid-February social media post got fans speculating if Curtis had accidentally spilled the beans that the upcoming fifth season of the culinary dramedy would be its last, the Emmy winner seems to be doubling down on her comments.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Mar. 2026
Viewers were speculating that another important death from the books, that of Marina Thompson (Ruby Barker), could be a possibility from the shots of Benedict’s black clothing.
—Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 26 Feb. 2026
Shell building is her way of considering the question, testing it, and speculating.
—Literary Hub, 23 Feb. 2026
Valerie Krystine Muniz, who identified herself on social media as Addi’s aunt and the sister of her father, urged people to stop speculating as the family grieves.
—Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 17 Feb. 2026
With the penultimate hour now streaming, only one episode remains, and, without any renewal news to say otherwise, fans are speculating this could be the end of the saga from creator Meaghan Oppenheimer.
—Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 11 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for speculating
Verb
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That reduces the need for guessing and backtracking, and improves efficiency, the retail giant said.—
Cheryl V. Jackson,
IndyStar,
6 Mar. 2026
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For years now, there has been a lot of waiting, guessing and surely in-house prevaricating about who will be the next James Bond.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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From looks alone, you’d be forgiven for assuming the Grand America Hotel was nestled somewhere in the European Alps, as opposed to Salt Lake City’s Wasatch Rockies.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
10 Mar. 2026
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But for a non-clairvoyant Bush II administration, assuming WMD under Saddam Hussein seemed the responsible thing.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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That’s partly because girls are less frequently diagnosed with ADHD than boys are, so many adult women live their whole life with the disorder without ever suspecting it.—
Yasmin Tayag,
The Atlantic,
25 Feb. 2026
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Later, Zapata had her killed, suspecting her of being the mole.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
20 Feb. 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
-
Deschanel’s review tapped into something a lot of people had been thinking but hadn’t articulated publicly.—
Ryan Brennan,
Charlotte Observer,
9 Mar. 2026
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Elward said Traynere was using the email to gain a political advantage and learn what members of the opposing party were thinking.—
Michelle Mullins,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Speculating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/speculating. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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