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
Once news of the reboot broke online, social media chatter picked up, with fans speculating which eras the film may be set in.
—
Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2026
By the time the services let out, volunteers were speculating that the agents had more or less left town.
—Daniel Brook, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
This led to a considerable amount of commentary speculating that Hispanic voters, historically more supportive of Democrats, might continue shifting toward the GOP.
—Gary M. Segura, The Conversation, 23 Mar. 2026
Reinhart, who fans had been speculating would appear in the music video, took to social media shortly after its release to share a video with the global super stars.
—Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 20 Mar. 2026
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce haven’t even gotten married yet, and people are already speculating about the two expanding the family.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 19 Mar. 2026
And baselessly speculating on strangers’ personal business is a bad idea.
—Tyler Austin Harper, The Atlantic, 18 Mar. 2026
Fans have been speculating about a Hov comeback for this summer, with 2026 serving as the 30th anniversary of his Reasonable Doubt debut and the 25th anniversary of The Blueprint.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 17 Mar. 2026
Beck said some farmers are speculating growers might plant less corn this season to control costs.
—Star Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 17 Mar. 2026
Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2026
By the time the services let out, volunteers were speculating that the agents had more or less left town.
—Daniel Brook, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
This led to a considerable amount of commentary speculating that Hispanic voters, historically more supportive of Democrats, might continue shifting toward the GOP.
—Gary M. Segura, The Conversation, 23 Mar. 2026
Reinhart, who fans had been speculating would appear in the music video, took to social media shortly after its release to share a video with the global super stars.
—Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 20 Mar. 2026
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce haven’t even gotten married yet, and people are already speculating about the two expanding the family.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 19 Mar. 2026
And baselessly speculating on strangers’ personal business is a bad idea.
—Tyler Austin Harper, The Atlantic, 18 Mar. 2026
Fans have been speculating about a Hov comeback for this summer, with 2026 serving as the 30th anniversary of his Reasonable Doubt debut and the 25th anniversary of The Blueprint.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 17 Mar. 2026
Beck said some farmers are speculating growers might plant less corn this season to control costs.
—Star Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 17 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for speculating
Verb
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But Diver was heartbroken to learn that guessing cost her group a tenting spot.—
Storey Wertheimer,
NBC news,
20 Mar. 2026
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But here’s guessing that no one will call it Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium.—
Assistant Sports Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Mar. 2026
Verb
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That adds up to more than $4,470 over the life of the HELOC, assuming rates held constant.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
23 Mar. 2026
-
Bootstrappers take such interactions for granted by assuming Lorentz invariance (the symmetries of a flat space-time fabric for particles to move around in).—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
23 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Fans have been suspecting that a Pussycat Dolls reunion was imminent as early as December, when rumors circulated on social media that the group had signed with CAA.—
Steven J. Horowitz,
Variety,
12 Mar. 2026
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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
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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Former Work aide Greg Grant gave a detailed history of Obama-era efforts to shift Pentagon thinking to the Small Wars Journal.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
23 Mar. 2026
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And don’t get consumed with thinking about the future.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Speculating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/speculating. Accessed 27 Mar. 2026.
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