surmises 1 of 2

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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surmises

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of surmise

Example Sentences

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
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
  • That said, plenty of analysts and advocacy groups are already making educated guesses.
    Jason St. Angelo, USA Today, 29 July 2026
  • Competitive Wordle Score The Bot and I tie yet again, this time with four guesses.
    Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
Verb
  • Every layer of the stack assumes shopping is scarce and expensive.
    Abhinav Sinha, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026
  • The report assumes that similar gangs are operating on the same scale everywhere—even in places where no such activity has ever surfaced.
    Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 26 July 2026
Verb
  • Of course, this pre-supposes that Salah looks to leave Europe this summer as a free agent.
    Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 15 July 2026
  • This is not true, unless, Miss Manners supposes, your definition of formality begins and ends with having to wear shoes.
    Judith Martin, Mercury News, 17 June 2026
Verb
  • Perhaps the closest analogue, Köhler speculates, are wellness retreats.
    Veronique Greenwood, Time, 9 July 2026
  • In the 2021 edition of the novel published by Ediciones Uniandes, Carolina Alzate speculates that this could be referring to a town near Natagaima, currently in Tolima.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 July 2026
Verb
  • Crystal hates that shows drop an entire season on release day, and thinks streaming has eroded the monoculture that used to propel powerful franchises to billion-dollar heights.
    Jack Dunn, Variety, 30 July 2026
  • Like Kaiser, Dendy thinks that Americans on either side of politics are coming to the same conclusion from different routes.
    T.M. Brown, CNN Money, 30 July 2026
Verb
  • Businesses need to make investments in automated containment, behavior-centric detection, and ongoing validation that presumes attackers will act independently.
    Chuck Brooks, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026
  • One presumes that this parent is also constantly looking at her phone.
    Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 16 July 2026
Verb
  • As for why only a small fraction of cells become cannibalistic, Larson suspects that there may be an evolutionary balance point based on some tradeoffs and constraints.
    Jay Kakade July 23, Refractor, 23 July 2026
  • Given the unusual circumstances, Wells’ family suspects something nefarious could have happened to him and been covered up.
    Adam Carlson, PEOPLE, 22 July 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Surmises.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surmises. Accessed 2 Aug. 2026.

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