Definitions for speculate
ˈspɛk yəˌleɪtspec·u·late

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:3.0 / 2 votes

1. speculate, theorize, theorise, conjecture, hypothesize, hypothesise, hypothecate, supposeverb

   to believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds

   "Scientists supposed that large dinosaurs lived in swamps"

2. speculateverb

   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"

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

   reflect deeply on a subject

   "I mulled over the events of the afternoon"; "philosophers have speculated on the question of God for thousands of years"; "The scientist must stop to observe and start to excogitate"

4. speculate, jobverb

   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"

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. speculateverb

   to think, meditate or reflect on a subject; to deliberate or cogitate

2. speculateverb

   to make an inference based on inconclusive evidence; to surmise or conjecture

3. speculateverb

   to make a risky trade in the hope of making a profit; to venture or gamble

4. Etymology: From speculatus, past participle of speculor, from specula, from specio

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. To Speculateverb

   To consider attentively; to look through with the mind.

   Man was not meant to gape, or look upward with the eye, but to have his thoughts sublime; and not only behold, but speculate their nature with the eye of the understanding. Thomas Browne, Vulgar Errours.

2. To Speculateverb

   To meditate; to contemplate; to take a view of any thing with the mind.

   Etymology: speculer, Fr. speculor, Lat.

   Consider the quantity, and not speculate upon an intrinsecal relation. Kenelm Digby, on Bodies.

   As our news-writers record many facts which afford great matter of speculation, their readers speculate accordingly, and by their variety of conjectures become consummate statesmen. Addison.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. speculate

   Speculate generally refers to the act of forming opinions or conclusions based on conjecture or incomplete information. It can also mean to invest in stocks, real estate, or other ventures in the hope of gain but with the risk of loss.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:1.5 / 2 votes

1. Speculateverb

   to consider by turning a subject in the mind, and viewing it in its different aspects and relations; to meditate; to contemplate; to theorize; as, to speculate on questions in religion; to speculate on political events

2. Speculateverb

   to view subjects from certain premises given or assumed, and infer conclusions respecting them a priori

3. Speculateverb

   to purchase with the expectation of a contingent advance in value, and a consequent sale at a profit; -- often, in a somewhat depreciative sense, of unsound or hazardous transactions; as, to speculate in coffee, in sugar, or in bank stock

4. Speculateverb

   to consider attentively; as, to speculate the nature of a thing

5. Etymology: [L. speculatus, p. p. of speculari to spy out, observe, fr. specula a lookout, fr. specere to look. See Spy.]

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Speculate

   spek′ū-lāt, v.i. to look at or into with the mind: to consider: to theorise: to traffic for great profit.—ns. Speculā′tion, act of speculating: mental view: contemplation: theory: the buying goods, &c., to sell them at an advance, any more or less risky investment of money for the sake of unusually large profits; Spec′ulātist, a speculative philosopher.—adj. Spec′ūlātive, given to speculation or theory: ideal: pertaining to speculation in business, &c.—adv. Spec′ulātively.—ns. Spec′ulātiveness, the state of being speculative; Spec′ulātor, one who engages in mental speculations, or who practises speculation in trade or business of any kind.—adj. Spec′ūlātory, exercising speculation: adapted for spying or viewing.—n. Spec′ulātrix, a female speculator. [L. speculatus, pa.p. of speculāri—specula, a lookout—specĕre, to look.]

Matched Categories

1. • Reason

Anagrams for speculate »

1. peculates

How to pronounce speculate?

1. Alex

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   Mark

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   Priya

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   Neerja

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How to say speculate in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of speculate in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of speculate in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of speculate in a Sentence

1. John Stemberger:

   I can’t speculate on his mental processes and what he decides to speak on, i’m concerned not with words but with action and he is a man of action.

2. Even Harris:

   As it relates to what might be the future conduct of Russian President Vladimir Putin, I can not speculate.

3. Honey Langcaster-James:

   We get consumed when someone dies in these circumstances by the question of why, and of what could have been done... but the important thing is we don't speculate.

4. Nick Calio:

   I don’t want to speculate a lot on what’s happened there, because they’re all under investigation. And we’re all trying to determine what is going on. Is this a trend? Is this a pattern?

5. Caitlin Pepperell:

   The strain from Troy belongs to a lineage that is not commonly associated with human disease in the modern world, we speculate that human infections in the ancient world were acquired from a pool of bacteria that moved readily between humans, livestock and the environment.

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References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=speculate
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Speculate
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=speculate
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/speculate
6. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=speculate