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
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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:
Maybe one could surmise that people have gotten tired of heated discourse, that they’re bored by arguing.
From Salon ● Apr. 9, 2026
We don’t really know who Isidora was: We can surmise that she was, most likely, the wife of a man of means, of high but not regal status.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
But when the lights dimmed for a film tribute to Scott Sanders, even a stranger could surmise that the man of the hour was no ordinary office jockey.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2025
In this eerie, rather primitive context, its easy to surmise that the murderess is a witch.
From New York Times ● Jun. 20, 2024
From the moment I telephoned news of the catastrophe to West Egg village, every surmise about him, and every practical question, was referred to me.
From " The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
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
Logan surmises that Hegseth is engaged in a power struggle in the Pentagon.
From Salon ● May 1, 2026
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 surmises that the aim was "to connect people and bring them to Kpop".
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 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
For example, while I often asked for help with French administrative tasks, the bot never surmised that I lived in Paris.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 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
But the first rule about three-peating is that you do not talk about three-peating, or as third baseman Max Muncy surmised: “The biggest challenge of a three-peat is not treating it like it’s a three-peat.”
From Los Angeles Times ● 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
“And you don’t like him,” Edward surmised, his tone still kind.
From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
All the while, he’s surmising what he might gain by rifling through his associates’ drawers and desks.
From Salon ● Apr. 11, 2025
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
"I have brought this myself, Madam," he said, addressing Paulina, "to see it delivered into your personal keeping, surmising that it was of importance."
From Fairies Afield by Mrs. (Mary Louisa) Molesworth
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.
