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speculate

/ˈspɛk.jəˌleɪt/verb3 syllables

Speculate means: reflect deeply on a subject.

Synonyms for speculate19

verb, as in reflect deeply on a subject

chew over, think over, meditate, ponder, excogitate, contemplate, muse, reflect, mull, mull over, ruminate

verb, as in to believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds

theorize, theorise, conjecture, hypothesize, hypothesise, hypothecate, suppose

verb, as in invest at a risk

job

What does speculate mean?4

verb

1

reflect deeply on a subject“I mulled over the events of the afternoon”

2

to believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds“Scientists supposed that large dinosaurs lived in swamps”

3

invest at a risk“I bought this house not because I want to live in it but to sell it later at a good price, so I am speculating”

4

talk over conjecturally, or review in an idle or casual way and with an element of doubt or without sufficient reason to reach a conclusion“We were speculating whether the President had to resign after the scandal”

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Speculate in a sentence

  • As to what happened there, one can only speculate.sundown
  • I am speculating that he may win the game.unknown
  • He made a killing by speculating on the stock market.CN
  • When you do things and don't explain why, people are left to speculate as to your motives.rul
  • Locals speculate the empty streets of the usually busy tourist town drew the goats in.Hybrid
  • You must draw inferences but not speculate.kiryopi
  • He has been speculating on his future.unknown
  • The filmmakers can only speculate why McQueen, who struggled with drug addiction, took his life.Hybrid

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.

Forms of speculate

as a verb

past tense
speculated
present participle
speculating
third-person singular
speculates
past participle
speculated