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
-
have been surmisingperfect progressive
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has been surmisingperfect progressive
Past
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surmisedsimple
-
had surmisedperfect
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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:
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
A half-blind raccoon could surmise Gladys’ origins if it were paying attention to the first two-thirds of the film.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 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
A hint, a surmise, a doubt as to what might be in the box, would destroy him.
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
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
Cashin surmises that the reason he was most proud of his victory in Smith v.
From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2025
He surmises: Each of us was probably going to tweet about it or post the moment on Facebook.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
“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
He surmised that "Epstein knew a lot about taxes".
From BBC ● Nov. 15, 2025
It could be surmised from her letters that she never stopped loving Anderson.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2025
“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
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
The request was an unusual one, and much surmising took place among his friends as to what could be the meaning of it.
From The Little Gleaner, Vol. X. A Monthly Magazine for the Young by Various
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