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speculate

 
Dictionary: spec·u·late   (spĕk'yə-lāt') pronunciation

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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Thesaurus: speculate
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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.

Antonyms: speculate
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v

Definition: gamble, risk
Antonyms: abstain

v

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


Word Tutor: speculate
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pronunciation

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

pronunciation 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)

Translations: Speculate
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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


 
 
Learn More
conjecture
Take a Flier (business term)
sanguinely

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
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