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
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Fans take their own stabs pro bono, posting to Reddit their predictions for the draft’s first round, or their bespoke guesses for all two hundred and fifty-seven picks.—
Dan Greene,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
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Some of my guesses about what was going on were right, others were wrong.—
John Warner,
Chicago Tribune,
16 May 2026
Verb
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But that scenario assumes the streamers actually want the same packages the networks currently hold.—
Bobby Burack OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
16 May 2026
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Leadership sees growing demand from business intelligence to AI workloads and assumes the team cannot keep up.—
Prashanthi Kolluru,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
Verb
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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
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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
Verb
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The purpose of manganese in the region below the aculeus, the team speculates, is probably to improve the flexibility and absorption of vibrations.—
Jacek Krywko,
ArsTechnica,
1 May 2026
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As for what’s next, Puck speculates that another season 1 writer will be elevated to showrunner if the show is renewed.—
Brayden Garcia,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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As heavily shorted stocks rise, Cramer thinks investors betting against them may be forced to buy shares back — a dynamic known as a short squeeze that can accelerate gains even without a major change in fundamentals.—
Alexa LoMonaco,
CNBC,
19 May 2026
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Everyone thinks fat stores are just these passive blobs of tissue that hang off your body.—
Eileen Finan,
PEOPLE,
19 May 2026
Verb
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The law presumes certain cancers are job-related and should be covered by workers' compensation.—
Ginger Allen,
CBS News,
6 May 2026
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Planning presumes a set of ideal conditions for childbearing — conditions most accessible to white, economically secure Americans — while stigmatizing and discouraging the reproduction of others.—
Sonya Borrero,
STAT,
1 May 2026
Verb
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The group also suspects consumers will ultimately pay the price for EA’s additional debt, as the gaming giant could continue to double down on in-game purchases — a pain point for some gamers — to help bolster company finances.—
Cerys Davies,
Los Angeles Times,
14 May 2026
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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is demanding the release of four Iranians detained by Kuwait, which suspects them of trying to infiltrate the Persian Gulf nation.—
Hira Humayun,
CNN Money,
13 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Surmises.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surmises. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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