speculate

verb

spec·u·late ˈspe-kyə-ˌlāt How to pronounce speculate (audio)

speculated; speculating

intransitive verb

: to meditate on or ponder a subject : reflect

: to review something idly or casually and often inconclusively

: to assume a business risk in hope of gain

especially : to make a relatively risky investment in something (such as stocks or real estate) in the hope of making a large short-term profit from market fluctuations

transitive verb

: to take to be true on the basis of insufficient evidence : theorize

: to be curious or doubtful about : wonder

speculates whether it will rain all vacation

Did you know?

Speculate was adopted into English in the late 16th century from Latin speculatus, the past participle of the verb speculari, which means "to spy out" or "to examine." Speculari, in turn, derives from specula, meaning "lookout post," and ultimately from the Latin verb specere, meaning "to look (at)." Other conspicuous descendants of specere are inspect and suspect. Some less obvious descendants are the words despise, species, specimen, and as you may have speculated, conspicuous.

Example Sentences

She could only speculate about her friend's motives. He speculated as to whether she would come. We don't know what happened—we can only speculate. speculating on the stock market

Recent Examples on the Web Scientists can only speculate about what’s going on.

Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 7 Sep. 2022 Fans jumped to the comments section to speculate on what could be happening.

Katie Bowlby, Country Living, 7 Sep. 2022 Chalmers didn’t care to speculate on why more people are looking for jobs, other than rising inflation rates may be driving people back to the job market.

William Thornton | Wthornton@al.com, al, 6 Sep. 2022 Dicebreaker, reports the card was sold for $10,500 in April 2009 — though some speculate the card's existence is nothing but an April Fools' joke.

Jacob Livesay, USA TODAY, 6 Sep. 2022 The monkeypox virus, which has now been diagnosed in hundreds of people in 26 countries, may have been quietly circulating for years before its sudden emergence worldwide, some scientists speculate.

Benjamin Ryan, NBC News, 4 June 2022 Scientists speculate that the difference in sensitivity to social media could be linked to puberty, which normally happens earlier in girls.

Nick Morrison, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2022 Some analysts speculate the kingdom and its partners have extremely limited spare capacity after ramping up their output in recent months.

Evan Halper, Washington Post, 3 Aug. 2022 Some people speculate that the closures are a response to baristas’ efforts to unionize.

Antonia Hitchens, The New Yorker, 30 July 2022 See More

Legal Definition

speculate

verb

spec·u·late ˈspe-kyə-ˌlāt How to pronounce speculate (audio)

speculated; speculating

intransitive verb

: to theorize on the basis of insufficient evidence

Note: A jury is not permitted to speculate on a matter about which insufficient evidence has been presented in reaching its verdict.

: to assume a business risk in hope of gain

especially : to buy or sell in expectation of profiting from market fluctuations

transitive verb

: to take to be true on the basis of insufficient evidence

单词	speculating
释义	speculate verb spec·u·late ˈspe-kyə-ˌlāt speculated; speculating intransitive verb 1 a : to meditate on or ponder a subject : reflect b : to review something idly or casually and often inconclusively 2 : to assume a business risk in hope of gain especially : to make a relatively risky investment in something (such as stocks or real estate) in the hope of making a large short-term profit from market fluctuations transitive verb 1 : to take to be true on the basis of insufficient evidence : theorize 2 : to be curious or doubtful about : wonder speculates whether it will rain all vacation Did you know? Speculate was adopted into English in the late 16th century from Latin speculatus, the past participle of the verb speculari, which means "to spy out" or "to examine." Speculari, in turn, derives from specula, meaning "lookout post," and ultimately from the Latin verb specere, meaning "to look (at)." Other conspicuous descendants of specere are inspect and suspect. Some less obvious descendants are the words despise, species, specimen, and as you may have speculated, conspicuous. Synonyms assume conjecture daresay guess imagine presume suppose surmise suspect suspicion [chiefly dialect] See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences She could only speculate about her friend's motives. He speculated as to whether she would come. We don't know what happened—we can only speculate. speculating on the stock market Recent Examples on the Web Scientists can only speculate about what’s going on. Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 7 Sep. 2022 Fans jumped to the comments section to speculate on what could be happening. Katie Bowlby, Country Living, 7 Sep. 2022 Chalmers didn’t care to speculate on why more people are looking for jobs, other than rising inflation rates may be driving people back to the job market. William Thornton \| Wthornton@al.com, al, 6 Sep. 2022 Dicebreaker, reports the card was sold for $10,500 in April 2009 — though some speculate the card's existence is nothing but an April Fools' joke. Jacob Livesay, USA TODAY, 6 Sep. 2022 The monkeypox virus, which has now been diagnosed in hundreds of people in 26 countries, may have been quietly circulating for years before its sudden emergence worldwide, some scientists speculate. Benjamin Ryan, NBC News, 4 June 2022 Scientists speculate that the difference in sensitivity to social media could be linked to puberty, which normally happens earlier in girls. Nick Morrison, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2022 Some analysts speculate the kingdom and its partners have extremely limited spare capacity after ramping up their output in recent months. Evan Halper, Washington Post, 3 Aug. 2022 Some people speculate that the closures are a response to baristas’ efforts to unionize. Antonia Hitchens, The New Yorker, 30 July 2022 See More Word History Etymology Latin speculatus, past participle of speculari to spy out, examine, from specula lookout post, from specere to look, look at — more at spy First Known Use 1599, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a Kids Definition speculate verb spec·u·late ˈspe-kyə-ˌlāt speculated; speculating 1 : to think or wonder about something 2 : to come up with ideas or theories about something 3 : to engage in a risky but possibly very profitable business deal Legal Definition speculate verb spec·u·late ˈspe-kyə-ˌlāt speculated; speculating intransitive verb 1 : to theorize on the basis of insufficient evidence Note: A jury is not permitted to speculate on a matter about which insufficient evidence has been presented in reaching its verdict. 2 : to assume a business risk in hope of gain especially : to buy or sell in expectation of profiting from market fluctuations transitive verb : to take to be true on the basis of insufficient evidence speculating verb present participle of speculate as in guessing to form an opinion from little or no evidence I speculate that someone has been using this cabin as a trysting place Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance guessing assuming thinking conjecturing surmising suspecting supposing imagining presuming believing hypothesizing inferring theorizing suspicioning deducing concluding expecting daresaying gathering judging hypothecating reckoning conceiving taking Antonyms & Near Antonyms proving demonstrating documenting validating establishing determining ascertaining learning substantiating finding out See More
随便看	inyoite Inés de Castro Io io io jima Io moth io to ioa Ioannina IOC iod- iodate iodated iodates iodating iodation iodations iodhydrin iodic anhydride iodide iodides iodids iodinate iodinated iodinates

speculate

verb

Did you know?

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

Kids Definition

verb

Legal Definition

verb

verb