SURMISES Synonyms: 48 Similar and Opposite Words

surmises 1 of 2

noun

plural of surmise

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

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surmises

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of surmise

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

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of surmises

Noun

Nothing in your life has dissuaded you from these early surmises. — Padgett Powell, Harpers Magazine, 30 June 2026

Verb

Peter Cho, chief marketing officer of the Sleep Spa, surmises that their mattresses first became a status symbol in 1952, when the company became the official purveyor to the royal court by King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden. — Jaklin Romine oct. 15, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026 Bastian’s wife surmises that Johann must be a relative, and he is invited to eat. — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026 Many Spaniards lived or even committed atrocities in the Civil War, suffering a collective guilt, Ruiz Capillas surmises. — John Hopewell, Variety, 12 Aug. 2026 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

To prevent lucky guesses, the AI must uncover enough information to justify its decision, Visa said.

— Roy Stephen Canivel, Footwear News, 5 Nov. 2026
The complete absence of such false positives showed that the successful trials weren’t just lucky guesses.

— Ben Brubaker, Quanta Magazine, 4 Nov. 2026

Definition of guesses

Verb

Castro assumes his role at a time of uncertainty for the 2027 baseball season, with a lockout looking increasingly likely and the annual Winter Meetings in December potentially subject to cancellation.

— Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 4 Nov. 2026
Evercore's middle scenario assumes a divided Congress, an undisputed election and no military escalation in Iran, putting the year-end S & P 500 target at 7,750, a little less than 3% above Monday's close.

— Paulina Likos, CNBC, 3 Nov. 2026

Definition of assumes

Verb

The Newsom administration is coming under fire for paying $180 million to a private investment firm that speculates on water in exchange for a relatively small amount of additional water for Sacramento River salmon.

— Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
Her exit comes as the industry speculates wildly about the fate of other division leaders across both companies.

— Matt Donnelly, Variety, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of speculates

Verb

In David’s 1996 novel Absolute Power, an American president presumes himself to be above the rule of law and seeks to force his underlings to commit criminal acts that will benefit him.

— David Baldacci, Vanity Fair, 3 Nov. 2026
For example, the law presumes that coordination is taking place if a candidate’s family member is running an independent expenditure committee supporting that same candidate.

— David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of presumes

Verb

But Songlian soon suspects that the real danger lies with the seemingly kindly but secretly conniving Second Mistress (Cao Cuifen).

— Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2026
But Pessiglione suspects that psychological factors, such as motivations and beliefs, also play a key role.

— Cody Cottier, Scientific American, 4 Nov. 2026

Definition of suspects

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“Surmises.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surmises. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of surmises

noun

verb

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