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
Which, of course, means people are speculating.
—
Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 7 Nov. 2025
The country’s apparel exporters were unhappy with the move, with one former vice president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association speculating that the new charges were designed to make port operations look more profitable before the foreign operators took over the lease.
—Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 3 Nov. 2025
Analysts remain puzzled over the White House’s intentions, with some speculating that hardliners are vying to remove Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro from power.
—Ben Smith, semafor.com, 31 Oct. 2025
From speculating that what scares people the most is anything natural (which can’t be emulated) to advising never listen to a designer, especially a man designer, Jacobs is direct.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 29 Oct. 2025
Fans are already speculating who Huang's next leading couple might be.
—Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025
Fans have been speculating about who could step up to challenge Dragunov in his first title defense.
—Fernando Quiles Jr, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
Liquidation specialists are speculating the refunds will happen and buying the rights to them, offering businesses about 20% of total tariffs paid in exchange for the rights to any future refunds.
—Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2025
On Wednesday, the New York Post started speculating that Ellison may decide to turn his quiet overtures to the Paramount board into a hostile-takeover attempt, something that doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibility.
—Josef Adalian, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2025
Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 7 Nov. 2025
The country’s apparel exporters were unhappy with the move, with one former vice president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association speculating that the new charges were designed to make port operations look more profitable before the foreign operators took over the lease.
—Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 3 Nov. 2025
Analysts remain puzzled over the White House’s intentions, with some speculating that hardliners are vying to remove Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro from power.
—Ben Smith, semafor.com, 31 Oct. 2025
From speculating that what scares people the most is anything natural (which can’t be emulated) to advising never listen to a designer, especially a man designer, Jacobs is direct.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 29 Oct. 2025
Fans are already speculating who Huang's next leading couple might be.
—Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025
Fans have been speculating about who could step up to challenge Dragunov in his first title defense.
—Fernando Quiles Jr, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
Liquidation specialists are speculating the refunds will happen and buying the rights to them, offering businesses about 20% of total tariffs paid in exchange for the rights to any future refunds.
—Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2025
On Wednesday, the New York Post started speculating that Ellison may decide to turn his quiet overtures to the Paramount board into a hostile-takeover attempt, something that doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibility.
—Josef Adalian, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for speculating
Verb
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The 28-year-old didn’t leave commenters guessing too long.—
Elizabeth Ayoola,
Essence,
5 Nov. 2025
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The end result — essentially the hottest FaceTime ever — leaves viewers guessing who will be next to pick up the phone.—
Ana Calderone,
PEOPLE,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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As a result, Kansas City will rely on Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt to continue sharing the load in the offensive backfield down the stretch of the season and into the playoffs -- assuming the Chiefs earn a place there come January.—
Max Dible,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Nov. 2025
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And that’s assuming that China, already Saudi’s biggest trade partner, doesn’t also look to partner with the kingdom on its metals ambitions and play spoiler to the West’s goal of creating an alternative.—
Matthew Martin,
semafor.com,
10 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The comments on the video flooded with reactions to the spooky moment, with many suspecting her home might be haunted.—
Jordan Greene,
PEOPLE,
4 Nov. 2025
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After initially suspecting a bullet or debris flicked up by a truck, the police ruled out both.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Typing becomes editing, not thinking.—
Orianna Rosa Royle,
Fortune,
7 Nov. 2025
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And not thinking there were going to be a point of anything.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Speculating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/speculating. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.
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