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
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
As much as the cap growth era has taken some of the sting out of targeting teams with distressed assets as a means of both improving your NHL lineup while simultaneously adding future value, there’s still utility to speculating in struggling veteran players on inefficient or inconvenient contracts.
—Harman Dayal, New York Times, 11 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
Meanwhile, some of those astronomers began speculating that, like our planet and its inhabitants, the very stars were subject to change, forming and growing and eventually dying.
—Kathryn Schulz, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
Podcasters who get to spend at least five more months speculating about Antetokounmpo trades that might never happen.
—Mike Finger, San Antonio Express-News, 5 Feb. 2026
Fans of the show and the Julia Quinn novel series it’s based on are already speculating about who will star in Bridgerton Season 5.
—Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 30 Jan. 2026
The tickets sold out quickly and, soon after, fans began speculating that guest would be none other than Bruce Springsteen.
—Ross Raihala, Twin Cities, 30 Jan. 2026
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
As much as the cap growth era has taken some of the sting out of targeting teams with distressed assets as a means of both improving your NHL lineup while simultaneously adding future value, there’s still utility to speculating in struggling veteran players on inefficient or inconvenient contracts.
—Harman Dayal, New York Times, 11 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
Meanwhile, some of those astronomers began speculating that, like our planet and its inhabitants, the very stars were subject to change, forming and growing and eventually dying.
—Kathryn Schulz, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
Podcasters who get to spend at least five more months speculating about Antetokounmpo trades that might never happen.
—Mike Finger, San Antonio Express-News, 5 Feb. 2026
Fans of the show and the Julia Quinn novel series it’s based on are already speculating about who will star in Bridgerton Season 5.
—Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 30 Jan. 2026
The tickets sold out quickly and, soon after, fans began speculating that guest would be none other than Bruce Springsteen.
—Ross Raihala, Twin Cities, 30 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for speculating
Verb
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Woods kept everyone guessing — a favorite hobby of his — with one word and a smug grin last week at Riviera when he was asked if playing in the Masters was off the table.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
24 Feb. 2026
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The bottom line Selling gold for the most money isn't about guessing where prices go next.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
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That changed a bit on a sunny Saturday in San Francisco, the contest assuming a smidgen of campaign heat — chanting crowds, sign-waving supporters, call-and-response from the audience — as the state party held its annual convention in this bluest of cities.—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Mercury News,
25 Feb. 2026
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The mayor is expecting to distribute the payments before the end of March, assuming the ordinance passes both its first and final readings, with a final vote anticipated on March 10.—
Verónica Egui Brito,
Miami Herald,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Later, Zapata had her killed, suspecting her of being the mole.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
20 Feb. 2026
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By episode five, Michael had moved on from suspecting Yam Yam to suspecting Colton, who was a ringleader in the previous episode’s banishment of Big Brother fan favorite Tiffany Mitchell.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
16 Jan. 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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Many analysts and economists are thinking along similar lines, with Deutsche Bank Research Institute recently prompting a proprietary AI tool to forecast what jobs its AI brethren would eliminate, and how.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
23 Feb. 2026
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Taking no questions, the DA offered no indication of his or his office’s thinking on the matter.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
23 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Speculating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/speculating. Accessed 27 Feb. 2026.
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