surmise
Americanverb (used with object)
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surmises,
present (3rd person singular)
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surmised,
past participle, past
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surmising
present participle
verb (used without object)
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surmises,
present (3rd person singular)
-
surmised,
past participle, past
-
surmising
present participle
noun
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surmises
plural
-
a matter of conjecture.
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an idea or thought of something as being possible or likely.
-
a conjecture or opinion.
verb
noun
Synonym Usage
See guess.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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surmisesimple
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surmisessimple
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have surmisedperfect
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has surmisedperfect
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am surmisingprogressive
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are surmisingprogressive
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is surmisingprogressive
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have been surmisingperfect progressive
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has been surmisingperfect progressive
Past
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surmisedsimple
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had surmisedperfect
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was surmisingprogressive
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were surmisingprogressive
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had been surmisingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of surmise
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English surmisen, from Anglo-French surmis(e), Middle French “accused,” past participle of surmettre “to accuse,” from Latin supermittere “to throw upon,” from super super- + mittere “to let go, send”
Explanation
If you see empty ice cream containers on the table, sprinkles littering the ground, and a can of whipped cream in the trash, you can surmise what happened: someone made sundaes. To surmise is to form an opinion or make a guess about something. If you surmise that something is true, you don't have much evidence or knowledge about it. Near synonyms are guess, conjecture, and suppose. You might say, "I can't even surmise what he would do in such a situation." Surmise came to English from the French surmettre, "to accuse," which is formed from the prefix sur-, "on, upon," plus mettre, "to put" (from Latin mittere, "to send").
Vocabulary lists containing surmise
The Great Gatsby
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Grade 10, List 2
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Send a Message: Mit and Miss
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
When I surmise that the printed version of our conversation may have a lot of “redacted, redacted, redacted,” Peaches is quick to respond.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2026
But if you showed the average Chicagoan the evidence now in the public domain, most would likely surmise that Mr. Homan took a bribe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2025
Yet, with how much time these commenters seem to have to seek out unemployment announcements, one has to surmise that internet trolls aren’t exactly the most gainfully employed members of society themselves.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2025
In this eerie, rather primitive context, its easy to surmise that the murderess is a witch.
From New York Times ● Jun. 20, 2024
But we can use our imagination; we can look upon what he subsequently did and surmise.
From "Native Son" by Richard Wright
Evans surmises the fish that survived were in an area of the creek where less charred material and sediment were swept in.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
Brand surmises that the Dutch collaborator Seyffardt acquired the painting at the 1940 auction and it was then passed down throughout the generations.
From Barron's ● May 11, 2026
"There's lots of good things about these platforms, but there's just too much bad stuff," he surmises.
From BBC ● Dec. 8, 2025
The author surmises that Goebbels discovered this and devised a way to get rid of her—sending Ruth out of Germany while simultaneously helping Japan establish a spy network in Hawaii.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
She correctly surmises that he is a plumber.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
Slemrod surmised that by 2030, the number of man-first tax returns might be 3 to 4 percentage points lower, or about 85% of heterosexual married couples.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 23, 2026
Su Tzu-yun, a military expert at Taipei's Institute for National Defense and Security Research, surmised Beijing might be trying to "weaken public support" for Taiwan's plans to increase its defence spending.
From Barron's ● Mar. 9, 2026
Hunnicutt surmised she was heading north because she didn’t come across signs of other wolves during her southern jaunt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2026
He surmised that "Epstein knew a lot about taxes".
From BBC ● Nov. 15, 2025
But his hair was combed wet, he had on his overcoat instead of his leather windbreaker, and I reasonably surmised that Mary Hudson was scheduled to join us.
From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger
We can certainly understand that she’s supposed to come off as ardent and unyielding, even surmising that she’s unsure of how to love anyone else because of how improperly she’s been loved herself.
From Salon ● Nov. 8, 2025
In fact, the time it took had many court watchers surmising that one of the justices must be writing a dissent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2024
I’m fairly confident in saying and surmising that his counsel at the time advised him against it and are probably somewhere saying “told you so.”
From Slate ● Nov. 2, 2023
Engoron, surmising that Trump was referring to his clerk, called the comments a "blatant" violation of the gag order.
From Reuters ● Oct. 25, 2023
Agnes and Lucy heard an increasing murmur in the street; and whilst they were surmising the cause, the door opened, and, behold, the cardinal and the curate!
From The Betrothed From the Italian of Alessandro Manzoni by Alessandro Manzoni
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
