as in to guess
to form an opinion from little or no evidence
I speculate that someone has been using this cabin as a trysting place
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Recent Examples of speculate
The famous couple has been keeping a low profile of late, but that hasn’t kept people from speculating about them.
—
Lissete Lanuza Sáenz, StyleCaster, 15 Apr. 2025
The default parlor game at Coachella is to speculate about who might be a viable headliner in the future; any of these three women could have held down her own day.
—Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 14 Apr. 2025
Some paleontologists had speculated that, since no ankylosaurids bones had been found from that period in North America, the species had disappeared by then.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 14 Apr. 2025
Others speculated that the gate agent may have been influenced improperly.
—Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for speculate
Lissete Lanuza Sáenz, StyleCaster, 15 Apr. 2025
The default parlor game at Coachella is to speculate about who might be a viable headliner in the future; any of these three women could have held down her own day.
—Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 14 Apr. 2025
Some paleontologists had speculated that, since no ankylosaurids bones had been found from that period in North America, the species had disappeared by then.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 14 Apr. 2025
Others speculated that the gate agent may have been influenced improperly.
—Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for speculate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for speculate
Verb
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Many theories have been floating around about what may have caused the rearranging with some guessing another stage and others imagining an extraordinary set design.—
Caché McClay,
USA Today,
24 Apr. 2025
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Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg guessed Johnny Rzeznik from Goo Goo Dolls.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
24 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Many professionals enter the tech space assuming their success in structured environments will seamlessly translate into building and scaling a startup, guaranteed.—
Lola Eniolorunda,
Forbes.com,
23 Apr. 2025
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There’s a lot of reason to like these odds as Raphinha is averaging 3.68 shots per 90 minutes on the year, 0.15 xG per shot (well above average), and will likely assume penalty duties in the absence of Lewandowski.—
Brett Koremenos,
New York Times,
23 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The stay in the beach house was supposed to clear their heads, and Joe wasn’t supposed to show up.—
Sara Netzley,
EW.com,
24 Apr. 2025
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In simple terms, prompt injection is a way for attackers to trick an AI into doing something it wasn’t supposed to.—
Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report,
FOXNews.com,
23 Apr. 2025
Verb
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It is also suspected to exacerbate hyperactivity in children.—
Ross Rosenfeld,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Apr. 2025
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According to a source, Nader suspects that the pro dancer, 41, had cheated on her and called things off.—
Catherine Santino,
People.com,
23 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The workshop acknowledges that people usually think of consent and boundaries in extreme terms.—
William Jones,
USA Today,
27 Apr. 2025
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The Browns must think otherwise to be taking him with a top 100 pick, but this one is hard to explain.—
Zac Jackson,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Speculate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/speculate. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.
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