as in guessed
to form an opinion from little or no evidence
I speculate that someone has been using this cabin as a trysting place
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of speculated
Things got just a bit chippy in the top of the sixth when Webb fired a four-seam fastball into the ribs of Dalton Rushing, who many speculated had made a disparaging comment at Jung Hoo Lee during Tuesday’s game when the Giants outfielder was hurt sliding home.
—
Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 23 Apr. 2026
Amid the ongoing retrenchment in pay-TV operators, some Wall Streeters have speculated that Comcast and Charter could one day combine.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 23 Apr. 2026
Sources at the premiere’s after-party speculated about whether Wintour had given her famous friends the heads-up that they were mocked in a movie that all of Conde had come up to support.
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 23 Apr. 2026
The Lakers haven’t publicly speculated on the date of either guard’s return.
—ABC News, 23 Apr. 2026
Some internet users speculated that Jordan was helping Beau get ice or liquid off his shirt.
—Ryan Brennan
april 22, Miami Herald, 22 Apr. 2026
Some users have also speculated that the restriction might block bad actors from equipping drones with Starlink.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 22 Apr. 2026
Separately, officials speculated that the number could be around 3 million.
—Henry Bushnell, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2026
Fans speculated that since the first three seasons were all set in sunny locales, the upcoming installment could change things up by spending time at a White Lotus resort in a cooler climate.
—Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 21 Apr. 2026
Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 23 Apr. 2026
Amid the ongoing retrenchment in pay-TV operators, some Wall Streeters have speculated that Comcast and Charter could one day combine.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 23 Apr. 2026
Sources at the premiere’s after-party speculated about whether Wintour had given her famous friends the heads-up that they were mocked in a movie that all of Conde had come up to support.
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 23 Apr. 2026
The Lakers haven’t publicly speculated on the date of either guard’s return.
—ABC News, 23 Apr. 2026
Some internet users speculated that Jordan was helping Beau get ice or liquid off his shirt.
—Ryan Brennan
april 22, Miami Herald, 22 Apr. 2026
Some users have also speculated that the restriction might block bad actors from equipping drones with Starlink.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 22 Apr. 2026
Separately, officials speculated that the number could be around 3 million.
—Henry Bushnell, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2026
Fans speculated that since the first three seasons were all set in sunny locales, the upcoming installment could change things up by spending time at a White Lotus resort in a cooler climate.
—Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 21 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for speculated
Verb
-
Neither of them could have guessed at the time how their lives would later intersect.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
23 Apr. 2026
-
Berg guessed that the flagellar motor was a rotor that turned the flagellum like a screw.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Then the ball was tipped, and Hyland assumed his role as an irritant of Denver’s corner shooters.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
25 Apr. 2026
-
The experience gave me a front-row seat to the coast’s dramatic beauty, and also a lesson in the abundance of the Arctic, a region often assumed to be barren.—
Karen Gardiner,
Travel + Leisure,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The campaign is expected to go well beyond the traditional sanction — the canceling of visas for those suspected of being in league with cartels.—
Steve Fisher,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2026
-
Cole Allen, a 31-year old teacher and engineer from Torrance, California, has been identified as the man suspected of opening fire at the White House Correspondents' Dinner Saturday night, two sources familiar with the matter told NPR.—
Deepa Shivaram,
NPR,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
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This is supposed to be one of the toughest arenas in the NHL for a visiting team to play in.—
Matthew Fairburn,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
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Records show he was supposed to be on a methadone taper.—
Kelly Davis,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Jones even thought the moment was big enough to break his autographed Ryan Getzlaf jersey out of its frame so Whitley, a fellow Texas Christian student, could wear it.—
Todd Harmonson,
Oc Register,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Hong heard about Trinket Trade boxes popping up in San Francisco and thought LA needed one too – a place for people to take or leave little treasures.—
Laurie Perez,
CBS News,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
State economists have surmised over the past year that the rise in unemployment is less about people losing their jobs and more about those entering or reentering the labor market needing more time to find work.—
Jim Turner,
Sun Sentinel,
17 Apr. 2026
-
This could be surmised as experimental evidence for the physical mechanism of the materials.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Abe told a judge at an April 27 proceeding that Allen has no prior arrests or convictions and is presumed innocent under the law.—
Aysha Bagchi,
USA Today,
30 Apr. 2026
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These visitors are presumed to have shorter stays centered around match days.—
David Hudnall,
Kansas City Star,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Speculated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/speculated. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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