as in guesses
an opinion or judgment based on little or no evidence
my surmise is that the couple's "good news" is the announcement that they are going to have a baby
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in assumes
to form an opinion from little or no evidence
we surmised that she had purchased the apple pie since there was a bakery box on the kitchen counter
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of surmises
Demetrius Patterson, HollywoodReporter, 11 Feb. 2026
Cohen surmises that the home was the first on the block.
—Culture Critic, San Francisco Chronicle, 17 Jan. 2026
Morgan correctly surmises that a misdelivered piece of mail was a move by the Game Master and not just a fuckup by the postal service.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2025
In the study, Ned correctly surmises that Colum riled Dougal up into beating Malcolm so that Colum could be seen as the cooler head/better leader.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 8 Aug. 2025
Verb
Upon entering the house, Donnie surmises there is an orgy-type party going on.
—Demetrius Patterson, HollywoodReporter, 11 Feb. 2026
Cohen surmises that the home was the first on the block.
—Culture Critic, San Francisco Chronicle, 17 Jan. 2026
Morgan correctly surmises that a misdelivered piece of mail was a move by the Game Master and not just a fuckup by the postal service.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2025
In the study, Ned correctly surmises that Colum riled Dougal up into beating Malcolm so that Colum could be seen as the cooler head/better leader.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 8 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for surmises
Noun
-
Rookies Dëmin, Wolf, Saraf, Nolan Traoré and Drake Powell have all played meaningful minutes and started games, and the organization has been able to leave the season with real notes on all five rather than guesses.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
5 Apr. 2026
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There is obviously a lot more going on, so leave your conspiracies and guesses to yourselves.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Of course, that assumes there are any businesses left in California.—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
6 Apr. 2026
-
The older consensus assumes Washington would still try to stabilize the situation—escort shipping, surge regional forces, send warnings, hold back from hitting the mainland.—
Micah McCartney,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Leo’s fine, one supposes, as evil plantation owner Calvin Candie, but the role is not a natural fit for him.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
26 Sep. 2025
-
The first theory supposes that the Big Bang produced dense spots that didn’t collapse immediately.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The octopuses can safely stand still during their hour-long mating process because, Villar speculates, both male and female can be hidden in their respective rocky hideouts.—
Jacek Krywko,
ArsTechnica,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Larson speculates that sports betting has become so popular.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
At least, Fowler, who’s covered every season since the franchise’s inception, thinks so.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Robin thinks the lopsided representation likely has something to do with genetic differences between people of different racial groups — specifically in genes for athletic or intellectual abilities.—
Megan Molteni,
STAT,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The message of terrorism speaks to anyone who believes that violence is a natural response to political differences, and who presumes that they may not be seen or heard otherwise.—
Juliette Kayyem,
The Atlantic,
10 Mar. 2026
-
The early investigation presumes that the victim had been a pedestrian.—
Patrick Damp,
CBS News,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Sandel suspects those ties were strained by an unusually large group size, competition over food and reproduction, alpha male changes and diseases that killed adults that were key bridges between clusters.—
Jason P. Dinh,
Scientific American,
9 Apr. 2026
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Although some may theoretically exist in unsampled tundra — in a place like Siberia, maybe — Van Nuland suspects that many of the species will prove to be endemic to this region.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
6 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Surmises.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surmises. Accessed 11 Apr. 2026.
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