speculate

CEFRC1

/ˈspɛk.jʊˌleɪt/

verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To form an idea without enough facts to be certain.

  2. 02

    verb

    Extra detail

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

Examples

  • As to what happened there, one can only speculate.

  • I wouldn't want to speculate.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
4

Also pronounced

  • /ˈspek.jəˌlæɪt/

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

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

  2. To think, meditate or reflect on a subject; to consider, to deliberate or cogitate.

  3. To anticipate which branch of code will be chosen and execute it in advance.

More examples

In context

  • Would you care to speculate?

  • It is remarkable that persons who speculate the most boldly often conform with the most perfect quietude to the external regulations of society.

  • We can speculate that in many instances the sharks are not feeding on their victims, but only in a few cases can we guess what they are doing.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The expert refused to blank on the outcome until all data were collected.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

Borrowed from Latin speculātus, perfect active participle of speculor (“to watch, observe, examine, spy”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from specula (“a watchtower”), ultimately from speciō (“to look at”).