speculate

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA ^(key): /ˈspɛk.jʊˌleɪt/
• (US) IPA ^(key): /ˈspɛk.jəˌleɪt/

• Audio (US)

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Verb

Plain form speculate

Third-person singular speculates

Past tense speculated

Past participle speculated

Present participle speculating

1. (intransitive) When you speculate, you guess about the truth when you don't have all the important information.

   I speculated that Tom and Jerry's marriage would not last a year.

   It was speculated that the artist had been murdered.

2. (intransitive) (money) If you speculate, you make risky investments with the hope of making a large profit.

   He lost a lot of money by speculating in stocks.

Related words

• speculation
• speculative