speculate

[ spek-yuh-leyt ]
See synonyms for speculate on Thesaurus.com
verb (used without object),spec·u·lat·ed, spec·u·lat·ing.
  1. to engage in thought or reflection; meditate (often followed by on, upon, or a clause).

  2. to indulge in conjectural thought.

  1. to engage in any business transaction involving considerable risk or the chance of large gains, especially to buy and sell commodities, stocks, etc., in the expectation of a quick or very large profit.

Origin of speculate

1
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin speculātus “watched over,” past participle of speculārī “to watch over, explore, reconnoiter,” verb derivative of specula “watchtower,” noun derivative of specere “to look, regard, see”

Other words for speculate

Other words from speculate

  • o·ver·spec·u·late, verb (used without object), o·ver·spec·u·lat·ed, o·ver·spec·u·lat·ing.
  • pre·spec·u·late, verb (used without object), pre·spec·u·lat·ed, pre·spec·u·lat·ing.
  • un·spec·u·lat·ing, adjective

Words Nearby speculate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use speculate in a sentence

  • There were more subtle changes in him which it was too warm and dusty to speculate upon at the moment.

    Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton
  • Perhaps it was in the bottle of brandy that the peril lay; perhaps—but why speculate further!

    The Staircase At The Hearts Delight | Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs)
  • It was not a folly, in a rude age, to speculate on the first or fundamental principle of things.

  • But there is no need to speculate on what might be, when we have positive and certain knowledge of what has been.

  • But he snarled up at me like a startled animal, and I was obliged to go to bed and toss about and speculate.

    In Search of the Unknown | Robert W. Chambers

British Dictionary definitions for speculate

speculate

/ (ˈspɛkjʊˌleɪt) /


verb
  1. (when tr, takes a clause as object) to conjecture without knowing the complete facts

  2. (intr) to buy or sell securities, property, etc, in the hope of deriving capital gains

  1. (intr) to risk loss for the possibility of considerable gain

  2. (intr) NZ rugby to make an emergency forward kick of the ball without taking any particular aim

Origin of speculate

1
C16: from Latin speculārī to spy out, from specula a watchtower, from specere to look at

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012