surmising

verb

present participle of surmise
as in guessing
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 surmising During this period, this Simpsons episode circulated on social media (with a few digital modifications), with various media outlets surmising that the series had predicted these events. — Dan Snierson, Entertainment Weekly, 16 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for surmising
  1. guessing
  2. assuming
  3. supposing
  4. suspecting
  5. speculating
Verb
  • The Bot gets a point for guessing in three and loses it again for losing to me.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
  • So the public is left guessing about how much climate pollution is tied to the large language models of OpenAI, Anthropic and SpaceX’s SpaceXAI, and whether the companies plan to curb it.
    — Olivia Raimonde, Fortune, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of guessing
Verb
  • His immediate tasks since assuming the top job have been sustaining momentum in Disney's core growth areas, namely its theme parks and streaming divisions.
    — Lillian Rizzo, CNBC, 14 Aug. 2026
  • In a sense, the proof shows that a world in which love never returns is a world whose geometry tears itself apart—assuming, of course, the proof holds up.
    — Sam Macdonald, Scientific American, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of assuming
Verb
  • More recently, other experts have advised American farmers to go all out growing soybeans, supposing they will be needed by the Chinese or somebody.
    — Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Even supposing the pledges in the 1990s documents amounted to a crime, the legal deadline for bringing mortgage fraud charges has expired.
    — Aysha Bagchi, USA Today, 8 Dec. 2025
Definition of supposing
Verb
  • In the r/Solidcore subreddit, one expressed frustration with the fitness studio’s lack of communication after suspecting their ringworm infection came from the Downtown Brooklyn location.
    — Alyssa Goldberg, USA Today, 14 July 2026
  • Oceanside Police Captain Nick Nunez told KNSD that officers are not suspecting foul play.
    — Adam England, PEOPLE, 14 July 2026
Definition of suspecting
Verb
  • Does Michael Crichton still write a 1990 novel speculating about what this would be like?
    — Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 13 Aug. 2026
  • But some have been speculating that the restriction is related to the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war.
    — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of speculating

Browse Nearby Words

surmises
surmising
surmount
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Cite this Entry

“Surmising.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surmising. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on surmising

Nglish: Translation of surmising for Spanish Speakers

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