surmise
Americanverb (used with object)
-
surmises,
present (3rd person singular)
-
surmised,
past participle, past
-
surmising
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
surmises,
present (3rd person singular)
-
surmised,
past participle, past
-
surmising
present participle
noun
-
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
-
surmisesimple
-
surmisessimple
-
have surmisedperfect
-
has surmisedperfect
-
am surmisingprogressive
-
are surmisingprogressive
-
is surmisingprogressive
-
have been surmisingperfect progressive
-
has been surmisingperfect progressive
Past
-
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Grade 10, List 2
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Send a Message: Mit and Miss
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
The reason, they surmise: the shale-oil revolution, which turned the U.S. from a net importer of 12 million barrels a day into a net exporter of more than 3 million barrels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
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
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
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
My surmise was not finished, could not be; for I caught sight in the mirror of the red mark upon my forehead; and I knew that I was still unclean.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
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
As a colony that was less developed than Virginia and that possessed few geographic obstacles along George’s route, North Carolina, Mr. O’Malley surmises, represented a safer destination.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026
"It was an interesting childhood," Terry surmises, with a chuckle.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2025
Stewart makes no bones about her perfectionism or her lack of warmth, which she freely surmises is the reason her closest relationships suffered.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2024
“Now that I think about it, you’ve always been skinny,” Ama surmises, frowning.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
“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
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
Christmas storms had dumped 5 feet of snow and he surmised that’s when they got stuck — and hadn’t had anything to eat or drink in the weeks since.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2026
A consensus was quickly clear: "Please bring back the previous format," one person surmised on social media.
From BBC ● Nov. 26, 2025
It was almost blindingly white in the late afternoon sun; it looked as if it had been white st washed several times for the brick to be so completely covered, Polly surmised.
From "Copper Sun" by Sharon M. Draper
In the meantime, however, the German hunted in vain for the animal, surmising it might still be alive since the remains were in good condition.
From Salon ● Aug. 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
“Omeleto is taking more of an approach that the filmmaker is less visible. We’re more filmmaker-centric. We’re trying to create a brand that’s meaningful in storytelling — not about surmising how to get clicks.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2023
"Then there is something amiss?" questioned the young man eagerly, instinctively surmising that the news was unfavourable.
From The Winning of the Golden Spurs by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
