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
Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 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
Verb
Evans surmises the fish that survived were in an area of the creek where less charred material and sediment were swept in.
—Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 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
-
Use these clues to narrow down your guesses.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2026
-
The zoo received 1,400 guesses.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
PEOPLE,
11 June 2026
Verb
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The phrase assumes that fatness belongs firmly in the past, yet the very need for such a term suggests otherwise.—
Virgie Tovar,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2026
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My thesis simply assumes that geopolitical risk, tight inventories, and lingering supply disruption keep crude supported enough to prevent a deeper breakdown in energy equities.—
Tony Zhang,
CNBC,
10 June 2026
Verb
-
Farrell supposes that no high school baseball team in the nation has traveled as much as Orange Lutheran has.—
Steve Fryer,
Oc Register,
2 May 2026
-
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
Verb
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The feds did not specify the exact reason for the order, but Anthropic speculates that the directive may be related to a potential jailbreaking method for Fable 5.—
Will McCurdy,
PC Magazine,
13 June 2026
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Since glaciers didn’t flow right into Salisbury, the study speculates the stone, thought to have served as an altar, was deposited hundreds of miles east, beneath what is now the North Sea.—
Devorah Lauter,
ARTnews.com,
4 June 2026
Verb
-
The surest sign of improving standards in Ghana and other African countries, Hughton thinks, will be when diaspora players born elsewhere in the world opt to follow their roots.—
Simon Hughes,
New York Times,
17 June 2026
-
So everyone thinks the world is falling apart.—
Tara Haelle,
Scientific American,
16 June 2026
Verb
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This is also adjusted for an actual FIFA capacity at Hard Rock of 64,091, and, again, presumes the games there will be sold out.—
Chris Weatherspoon,
New York Times,
10 June 2026
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My greatest wish is that this ruling sets a precedent for the Treasury and serves the thousands of ordinary citizens who are abused and crushed every day by a system that presumes their guilt and forces them to prove their innocence at the cost of economic and emotional ruin.—
Jem Aswad,
Variety,
18 May 2026
Verb
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Hecla suspects that Burevestnik's development may be advancing for one of two reasons.—
Geoff Brumfiel,
NPR,
18 June 2026
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Nouri suspects Trump is less concerned with conveying the reality on the ground and more focused on calming global markets and public discontent at home.—
Harmeet Kaur,
CNN Money,
17 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Surmises.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surmises. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.
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