as in theoretic
existing only as an assumption or speculation
a speculative explanation of why this ancient pottery was found hundreds of miles from where it was made
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Recent Examples of speculative
While not specifically speculative fiction, the nonfiction narratives that students both read and produce serve as counter-narratives to the oppressive and harmful tropes in media more generally about Black girls and girlhood.
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The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 10 Sep. 2025
What’s certain is that humanoids are no longer a speculative bet.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 10 Sep. 2025
Harrison’s acclaimed speculative reimagining of a family drama, inflected with sci-fi and clones (and turned into a movie a few years ago), finally gets a Broadway run.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2025
This quiz invites you to journey through the golden age of literary sci-fi, where philosophical depth meets speculative wonder.
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for speculative
The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 10 Sep. 2025
What’s certain is that humanoids are no longer a speculative bet.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 10 Sep. 2025
Harrison’s acclaimed speculative reimagining of a family drama, inflected with sci-fi and clones (and turned into a movie a few years ago), finally gets a Broadway run.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2025
This quiz invites you to journey through the golden age of literary sci-fi, where philosophical depth meets speculative wonder.
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for speculative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for speculative
Adjective
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Denholm also said she isn’t entirely sold on the idea of Tesla investing in Musk’s xAI, a hypothetical that shareholders will vote on at the company’s annual meeting in November.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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Unfortunately, this risk isn’t just hypothetical.—
Bernard Marr,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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That volume of data is impractical to fit theoretical models to deliver large-scale, accurate predictions.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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The material enhances performance The team elucidated the material’s mechanism through a series of experimental analyses, including solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) spectroscopy, electron spin resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, and theoretical calculations.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Speculative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/speculative. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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