speculative

[ spek-yuh-ley-tiv, -luh-tiv ]
See synonyms for speculative on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. pertaining to, of the nature of, or characterized by speculation, contemplation, conjecture, or abstract reasoning: a speculative approach.

  2. theoretical, rather than practical: speculative conclusions.

  1. given to speculation, as persons, the mind, etc.

  2. of the nature of or involving commercial or financial speculation: speculative ventures.

  3. engaging in or given to such speculation.

Origin of speculative

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Late Latin word speculātīvus.See speculate, -ive

Other words from speculative

  • spec·u·la·tive·ly, adverb
  • spec·u·la·tive·ness, noun
  • an·ti·spec·u·la·tive, adjective
  • an·ti·spec·u·la·tive·ly, adverb
  • an·ti·spec·u·la·tive·ness, noun
  • hy·per·spec·u·la·tive, adjective
  • hy·per·spec·u·la·tive·ly, adverb
  • hy·per·spec·u·la·tive·ness, noun
  • non·spec·u·la·tive, adjective
  • non·spec·u·la·tive·ly, adverb
  • non·spec·u·la·tive·ness, noun
  • o·ver·spec·u·la·tive, adjective
  • o·ver·spec·u·la·tive·ly, adverb
  • o·ver·spec·u·la·tive·ness, noun
  • sem·i·spec·u·la·tive, adjective
  • sem·i·spec·u·la·tive·ly, adverb
  • sem·i·spec·u·la·tive·ness, noun
  • un·spec·u·la·tive, adjective

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

How to use speculative in a sentence

  • "They're pretty thin," Cash observed speculatively, as though he was measuring them mentally for some particular need.

    Cabin Fever | B. M. Bower
  • He was regarding, speculatively, the back of young Ovid Nixon, the assistant cashier.

    Scattergood Baines | Clarence Budington Kelland
  • Often she had gazed speculatively at the fine home they had built upon Stewart Island, wondering why the two were so aloof.

    The Missing Formula | Mildred A. Wirt, AKA Ann Wirt
  • He felt speculatively certain that Horace Endicott sat before him, and he knew Sonia to be a guilty woman.

    The Art of Disappearing | John Talbot Smith
  • It was perhaps inevitable that she should have thought speculatively of her wedding gown; what girl would not?

    And So They Were Married | Florence Morse Kingsley

British Dictionary definitions for speculative

speculative

/ (ˈspɛkjʊlətɪv) /


adjective
  1. relating to or characterized by speculation, esp financial speculation

Derived forms of speculative

  • speculatively, adverb
  • speculativeness, noun

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