'Speculate' definitions:
Definition of 'speculate'
(from WordNet)
verb
To believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds; "Scientists supposed that large dinosaurs lived in swamps" [syn: speculate, theorize, theorise, conjecture, hypothesize, hypothesise, hypothecate, suppose]
verb
Talk over conjecturally, or review in an idle or casual way and with an element of doubt or without sufficient reason to reach a conclusion; "We were speculating whether the President had to resign after the scandal"
verb
Reflect deeply on a subject; "I mulled over the events of the afternoon"; "philosophers have speculated on the question of God for thousands of years"; "The scientist must stop to observe and start to excogitate" [syn: chew over, think over, meditate, ponder, excogitate, contemplate, muse, reflect, mull, mull over, ruminate, speculate]
verb
Invest at a risk; "I bought this house not because I want to live in it but to sell it later at a good price, so I am speculating" [syn: speculate, job]
Definition of 'Speculate'
From: GCIDE
- Speculate \Spec"u*late\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Speculated; p. pr. & vb. n. Speculating.] [L. speculatus, p. p. of speculari to spy out, observe, fr. specula a lookout, fr. specere to look. See Spy.]
- 1. To consider by turning a subject in the mind, and viewing it in its different aspects and relations; to meditate; to contemplate; to theorize; as, to speculate on questions in religion; to speculate on political events. [1913 Webster]
- It is remarkable that persons who speculate the most boldly often conform with the most pefect quietude to the external regulations of society. --Hawthorne. [1913 Webster]
- 2. (Philos.) To view subjects from certain premises given or assumed, and infer conclusions respecting them a priori. [1913 Webster]
- 3. (Com.) To purchase with the expectation of a contingent advance in value, and a consequent sale at a profit; -- often, in a somewhat depreciative sense, of unsound or hazardous transactions; as, to speculate in coffee, in sugar, or in bank stock. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Speculate'
From: GCIDE
- Speculate \Spec"u*late\, v. t. To consider attentively; as, to speculate the nature of a thing. [R.] --Sir W. Hamilton. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'speculate'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- be abstracted,
- be caught short,
- be short,
- belong,
- brood,
- bucket,
- bucketshop,
- buy in,
- buy into,
- call,
- cast a horoscope,
- cast a nativity,
- cast lots,
- cerebrate,
- chew over,
- chew the cud,
- cogitate,
- consider,
- contemplate,
- cut lots,
- cut the cards,
- debate,
- deliberate,
- deposit margin,
- digest,
- divine,
- dope,
- dope out,
- dowse for water,
- draw lots,
- draw straws,
- entertain a theory,
- espouse a theory,
- evaluate,
- excogitate,
- financier,
- forebode,
- forecast,
- foresee,
- foretell,
- fortune-tell,
- gamble,
- game,
- go long,
- guess,
- hariolate,
- have a theory,
- hold on,
- hypothesize,
- introspect,
- invest,
- invest in,
- judge,
- lay out money,
- lot,
- make a killing,
- make a prediction,
- make a prognosis,
- make a prophecy,
- make a scoop,
- make an investment,
- margin up,
- match coins,
- meditate,
- miss the market,
- mull over,
- muse,
- operate,
- overstay the market,
- perpend,
- place,
- play,
- play around with,
- play at dice,
- play the market,
- play the ponies,
- play with,
- plow back into,
- plunge,
- ponder,
- ponder over,
- postulate,
- predict,
- prefigure,
- presage,
- prognosticate,
- prophesy,
- put,
- pyramid,
- raffle off,
- read palms,
- read tea leaves,
- read the future,
- reason,
- reflect,
- reinvest,
- review,
- risk,
- ruminate,
- scalp,
- scoop the market,
- shoot craps,
- sink,
- sink money in,
- soothsay,
- sport,
- stag,
- stag the market,
- study,
- take a chance,
- take a flier,
- tell fortunes,
- tell the future,
- theorize,
- toss,
- toy with,
- trade on margin,
- vaticinate,
- venture,
- wager,
- weigh,
- wonder about