sur·mise

[v. ser-mahyz; n. ser-mahyz, sur-mahyz] verb, sur·mised, sur·mis·ing, noun
verb (used with object)
1.
to think or infer without certain or strong evidence; conjecture; guess.
verb (used without object)
2.
to conjecture or guess.
noun
3.
a matter of conjecture.
4.
an idea or thought of something as being possible or likely.
5.
a conjecture or opinion.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English surmisen < Anglo-French surmis(e), Middle French (past participle of surmettre to accuse < Latin supermittere to throw upon), equivalent to sur- sur-1 + mis (masculine), mise (feminine) < Latin missus, missa, equivalent to mit(tere) to send + -tus, -ta past participle suffix

sur·mis·a·ble, adjective
sur·mised·ly [ser-mahyzd-lee, -mahy-zid-] , adverb
sur·mis·er, noun
un·sur·mised, adjective
un·sur·mis·ing, adjective


1. imagine, suppose, suspect. See guess.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To surmise
00:10
Surmise is an SAT word you need to know.
So is emanate. Does it mean:
to flow out, issue, or proceed, as from a source or origin; come forth; originate.
surrender under agreed conditions
Collins
World English Dictionary
surmise
 
vb
1.  (when tr, may take a clause as object) to infer (something) from incomplete or uncertain evidence
 
n
2.  an idea inferred from inconclusive evidence
 
[C15: from Old French, from surmettre to accuse, from Latin supermittere to throw over, from super- + mittere to send]
 
sur'misable
 
adj
 
sur'miser
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

surmise
c.1400, "to charge, allege," from O.Fr. surmis, pp. of surmettre "to accuse," from sur- "upon" + mettre "put," from L. mittere "to send" (see mission). Meaning "to infer conjecturally" is recorded from 1700. The noun meaning "inference, guess" is first found in Eng. 1590;
earlier it was a legal term meaning "formal allegation" (1451).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Example sentences
My surmise is that smoking marijuana is more risky than eating it but still safer than getting drunk.
Some ecologists surmise that biodiversity allows plant species to coexist
  without competing for resources.
The researchers surmise that this unit facilitates interaction between the
  crown and the acidic aqueous solution.
They helped navigators surmise where they were and how far they had traveled
  and how much longer they had to stay at sea.
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT