speculative

CEFRB2

/ˈspɛkjuləˌtɪv/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Based on guesses rather than certain knowledge.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Pertaining to financial speculation; Involving or resulting from high-risk investments or trade.

Examples

  • Commodity futures markets have become highly speculative.

  • This caused a huge speculative bubble in Algeria.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
4
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˈspɛkjəˌleɪtɪv/
  • /ˈspɛkjələˌtɪv/

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Pursued as a gamble, with possible large profits or losses; risky.

  2. Characterized by speculation; based on guessing, unfounded opinions, or extrapolation.

More examples

In context

  • Civil rights are apparently speculative.

  • Like The Handmaid's Tale, Oryx and Crake is a speculative fiction, not a science fiction proper.

  • When not inaccurate, much commentary on the contents of Hobson-Jobson is couched in hedges or relies on speculative estimates in the absence of exact information.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The professor dismissed the theory as purely blank because it lacked any data.

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

Nearby

Origin

adjective

Inherited from Middle English speculatyf, borrowed from Old French speculatif or directly from Late Latin speculativus, from Latin speculor.