surmise
Americanverb (used with object)
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surmises,
present (3rd person singular)
-
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.
-
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
-
have been surmisingperfect progressive
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has been surmisingperfect progressive
Past
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surmisedsimple
-
had surmisedperfect
-
was surmisingprogressive
-
were surmisingprogressive
-
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:
But as anyone who has seen her in “Parks and Recreation” or other roles would surmise, Plaza says, “I have cat-like tendencies and relate more to cats.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 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
One can only surmise that it is because he wants to gently remind us that confronting the challenges we now face—be they technical, social, economic or political—requires more than intellect, skill, charisma or treasure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025
From what we can surmise, the baby is a device to showcase the nobility of the show’s male characters or lack thereof.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2025
He paused, surveying us with the kind of wide- eyed surmise Mr. Carhart always used at this point, and then added in Mr. Carhart’s urbane murmur, “Let us pray.”
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
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
If they were for storing cotton, as Haas surmises, they would have been, in this textile-mad society, an emblem of state power and wealth, the ancient equivalent of Fort Knox.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
“I imagine there’s some sort of glitch or bug that’s blasting all your followers when you use similar captions,” they surmised.
From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2026
The film "mucks up Orwell", according to the Wall Street Journal,, external who surmised: "As comedy, the movie is feeble, and as allegory for the socioeconomically literate it is heavy-handed."
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
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
In other words, many managers surmised, if you can gauge it, you can improve upon it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2025
It was February, as Abel had surmised, and now winter really took hold.
From "Abel's Island" by William Steig
But if 12 months of TikTok and Instagram clips have arguably diminished the initial shock of the place, Henley was right in surmising that Sphere-goers are still coming here to be wowed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 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
Scientists started looking at hydrogen mixed with one other element, surmising that the chemical bonds might help compress the hydrogen atoms.
From New York Times ● Mar. 8, 2023
She ran upstairs, surmising that Virginia was connected with the “divorce bill,” for she had not seen Mr. Williams.
From An Oregon Girl A Tale of American Life in the New West by Alfred Ernest Rice
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
