speculate
Other forms: speculated; speculating; speculates
When you speculate, you use what you know to make a prediction about an outcome, like when you speculate that the injury of two key players will prevent your favorite team from going far in the playoffs this year.
The verb speculate has a specialized meaning in the world of finance — it means to take a financial risk in the hopes of monetary gain. For example, a business owner may speculate that a brand-new kind of frozen yogurt will be really popular, so she buys a huge order of it for her ice cream store. Someone who speculates goes looking for the next big thing, as seen in the word's Latin origin, speculatus, meaning "to spy out, examine."
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reflect deeply on a subject“philosophers have speculated on the question of God for thousands of years”
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synonyms:
chew over, contemplate, excogitate, meditate, mull, mull over, muse, ponder, reflect, ruminate, think over
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premeditate
think or reflect beforehand or in advance
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theologise, theologize
make theoretical speculations about theology or discuss theological subjects
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introspect
reflect on one's own thoughts and feelings
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bethink
consider or ponder something carefully
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cogitate
consider carefully and deeply; reflect upon; turn over in one's mind
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question, wonder
place in doubt or express doubtful speculation
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puzzle
be uncertain about; think about without fully understanding or being able to decide
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consider, study
give careful consideration to
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factor, factor in, factor out
consider as relevant when making a decision
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compare, equate, liken
consider or describe as similar, equal, or analogous
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scruple
have doubts about
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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”
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guess, hazard, pretend, venture
put forward, of a guess, in spite of possible refutation
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say, suppose
express a supposition
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anticipate, call, forebode, foretell, predict, prognosticate, promise
make a prediction about; tell in advance
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surmise, suspect
imagine to be the case or true or probable
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type of:
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reason
think logically
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believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds
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synonyms:
conjecture, hypothecate, hypothesise, hypothesize, suppose, theorise, theorize
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construct, reconstruct, retrace
reassemble mentally
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develop, explicate, formulate
elaborate, as of theories and hypotheses
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etymologise, etymologize
construct the history of words
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mature
develop and work out fully in one's mind
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redevelop, reformulate
formulate or develop again, of an improved theory or hypothesis
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type of:
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anticipate, expect
regard something as probable or likely
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invest at a risk
Vocabulary lists containing speculate
In this memoir, the author reveals how she and her twin sister survived the physical and emotional effects of a rare disfiguring condition called Crouzon Syndrome.
In Kaleria, Nigeria, twelve-year-old Nnamdi is on a mission to avenge his father's death with the help of his best friend and newly acquired supernatural powers.
After her grandfather becomes sick, eleven-year-old Maizy moves from Los Angeles to Last Chance, Minnesota, where she struggles to fit in as her family's Chinese restaurant is targeted with racist attacks.
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