as in hypothetical
existing only as an assumption or speculation
a speculative explanation of why this ancient pottery was found hundreds of miles from where it was made
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Recent Examples of speculative
Joseph diverted $28 million from investors’ funds into speculative equities trading and lost about $12 million of that trading, the indictment said.
—
Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 31 Mar. 2026
Any financial instruments mentioned herein are speculative in nature and may involve risk to principal and interest.
—Katie Stockton, CNBC, 30 Mar. 2026
For The Times) O’Connor described the Music Valley project as early-stage and speculative, pointing to a mining tradition dating back to the Wild West in which prospectors tout samples that show heavy concentrations of minerals in a bid to loosen investors’ wallets.
—Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2026
Rest assured, Hoiberg’s name will be on speculative lists for openings at programs with more resources.
—Joe Rexrode, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for speculative
Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 31 Mar. 2026
Any financial instruments mentioned herein are speculative in nature and may involve risk to principal and interest.
—Katie Stockton, CNBC, 30 Mar. 2026
For The Times) O’Connor described the Music Valley project as early-stage and speculative, pointing to a mining tradition dating back to the Wild West in which prospectors tout samples that show heavy concentrations of minerals in a bid to loosen investors’ wallets.
—Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2026
Rest assured, Hoiberg’s name will be on speculative lists for openings at programs with more resources.
—Joe Rexrode, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for speculative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for speculative
Adjective
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Instead of posing questions about geography or world affairs, the test asked him to tackle hypothetical situations, from the frustrating to the dangerous.—
David D. Kirkpatrick,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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Focus on the craft in front of you without thinking of its hypothetical audience.—
Tarot.com,
Baltimore Sun,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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John Preskill, a senior theoretical physicist at the university with a long history in the field of quantum error correction, advised the group.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
3 Apr. 2026
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That alone suggests Google expects quantum computing to be close enough to move from a theoretical problem to a practical one, which means other companies will almost certainly take note and follow suit.—
Alan Henry,
PC Magazine,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Projections of economic gains from major sporting events are typically optimistic, euphoric, chimerical or conjectural.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
19 June 2025
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That statistic is somewhat conjectural, since the vast majority of rapes in India are apparently not reported.—
Mark Jenkins,
Washington Post,
7 Nov. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Speculative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/speculative. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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