speculate

(spĕk'yə-lāt')

v., -lat·ed, -lat·ing, -lates.

v.intr.

1. To meditate on a subject; reflect.
2. To engage in a course of reasoning often based on inconclusive evidence. See synonyms at think.
3. To engage in the buying or selling of a commodity with an element of risk on the chance of profit.

v.tr.
To assume to be true without conclusive evidence: speculated that high cholesterol was a contributing factor to the patient's health problems.

[Latin speculārī, speculāt-, to observe, from specula, watchtower, from specere, to look at.]

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verb

1. To use the powers of the mind, as in conceiving ideas, drawing inferences, and making judgments: cerebrate, cogitate, deliberate, ratiocinate, reflect, think. Idioms: put on one's thinking cap, use one's head. See thoughts.
2. To draw an inference on the basis of inconclusive evidence or insufficient information: conjecture, guess, infer, suppose, surmise. See opinion.
3. To formulate or assert as a tentative explanation: hypothesize, theorize. See belief/unbelief, thoughts.
4. To take a risk in the hope of gaining advantage: gamble, venture. Idioms: take a flyer. See gambling.

v

Definition: gamble, risk
Antonyms: abstain

v

Definition: think about deeply and make theory
Antonyms: ignore, neglect

IN BRIEF: To make guesses. Also: To make risky business deals.

October. This is one of the peculiarly dangerous months to speculate in stocks. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August and February. — Mark Twain (1835-1910)

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For a list of words related to speculate, see:

• Judgments Pro and Con - speculate: express an opinion without knowledge
• Thinking, Judgment, and Consideration - speculate: reflect or meditate on some subject; indulge in idle conjecture; guess, surmise
• Judgments and Critiques - speculate: (vb) form or express opinion without knowledge of subject

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See words rhyming with "speculate."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Speculate.

Dansk (Danish)
v. intr. - spekulere
v. tr. - spekulere

Nederlands (Dutch)
speculeren, gissen

Français (French)
v. intr. - (gén) spéculer, faire des spéculations, (Fin) spéculer
v. tr. - spéculer, supposer (que)

Deutsch (German)
v. - spekulieren

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - διαλογίζομαι, στοχάζομαι, εικάζω, σπεκουλάρω, κερδοσκοπώ

Italiano (Italian)
speculare

Português (Portuguese)
v. - refletir, especular

Русский (Russian)
размышлять (над чем-л.), строить предположения, спекулировать, играть на бирже

Español (Spanish)
v. intr. - especular, meditar

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - spekulera, fundera

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
深思, 投机, 推测, 推断

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. intr. - 深思, 投機, 推測
v. tr. - 推測, 推斷

한국어 (Korean)
v. intr. - 추측하다, 투기를 하다, 심사 숙고 하다
v. tr. - 추측하다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 思索する, 推測する, 投機をする

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) تأمل, تفكر, ضارب في البورصه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. intr. - ‮יצר תיאוריה ללא בסיס עובדתי, הרהר, עסק בספקולציות, הימר בפזיזות‬
v. tr. - ‮ניחש, עיין, שקל, ספסר‬

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