Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Synonyms
Nearby Entries
speculate - 5 dictionary results

spec⋅u⋅late

  [spek-yuh-leyt]
Use speculate in a Sentence
–verb (used without object), -lat⋅ed, -lat⋅ing.
1. to engage in thought or reflection; meditate (often fol. by on, upon, or a clause).
2. to indulge in conjectural thought.
3. to engage in any business transaction involving considerable risk or the chance of large gains, esp. to buy and sell commodities, stocks, etc., in the expectation of a quick or very large profit.
Origin:
1590–1600; < L speculātus, ptp. of speculārī to watch over, explore, reconnoiter, deriv. of specula watch tower, n. deriv. of specere to look, regard; see -ate 1

Synonyms:
1. think, reflect, cogitate. 2. conjecture, guess, surmise, suppose, theorize.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To speculate
spec·u·late   (spěk'yə-lāt')   
v.   spec·u·lat·ed, spec·u·lat·ing, spec·u·lates

v.   intr.
  1. To meditate on a subject; reflect.
  2. To engage in a course of reasoning often based on inconclusive evidence. See Synonyms at think.
  3. To engage in the buying or selling of a commodity with an element of risk on the chance of profit.
v.   tr.
To assume to be true without conclusive evidence: speculated that high cholesterol was a contributing factor to the patient's health problems.

[Latin speculārī, speculāt-, to observe, from specula, watchtower, from specere, to look at; see spek- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

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.

It is remarkable that persons who speculate the most boldly often conform with the most pefect quietude to the external regulations of society. --Hawthorne.

2. (Philos.) To view subjects from certain premises given or assumed, and infer conclusions respecting them a priori.

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.

Speculate

Spec"u*late\, v. t. To consider attentively; as, to speculate the nature of a thing. [R.] --Sir W. Hamilton.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Language Translation for : speculate
Spanish: especular,
German: Vermutungen anstellen,
Japanese: 推測する
More Translations »

Main Entry: spec·u·late
Pronunciation: 'spe-ky&-"lAt
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: -lat·ed; -lat·ing
intransitive verb 1 : to theorize on the basis of insufficient evidence
NOTE: A jury is not permitted to speculate on a matter about which insufficient evidence has been presented in reaching its verdict.
2 : to assume a business risk in hope of gain; especially : to buy or sell in expectation of profiting from market fluctuations transitive verb : to take to be true on the basis of insufficient evidence —spec·u·la·tor /-"lA-t&r/ noun
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see speculate on Thesaurus | Reference