conjecture

C2 Topic:Philosophy & Reasoning

US /kənˈd͡ʒɛk.t͡ʃɚ/ UK /kənˈd͡ʒɛk.t͡ʃə(ɹ)/ See IPA manual

Freq #21504

Meanings

1

noun
A guess or opinion based on incomplete evidence.

Whether he understood or not is pure conjecture.
2

verb
To guess or form an opinion without solid proof.

I conjecture that the recipe uses two parts sugar, but I'm only guessing.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a guess or opinion based on... speculation supposition

2 verb · to guess or form an opinion... speculate suppose hypothesize theorize

Word family

Forms conjecturedconjecturesconjecturing

Derived forms conjecturabilityconjecturableconjecturinglymetaconjecturemisconjectureunconjectured

Related forms conject conjectural

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

mere conjecture
An explanation or belief based only on speculation rather than sufficient evidence.

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Conjecture entered English in the late Middle English period and ultimately derives from Latin jacere, “to throw.” Its literal meaning is “throw together.”

Etymology

From Old French, from Latin coniectūra (“a guess”), from coniectus, perfect passive participle of cōniciō (“throw or cast together; guess”), from con- (“together”) + iaciō (“throw, hurl”); see jet. Compare adjective, eject, inject, project, reject, subject, object, trajectory, deject, abject, surjection, bijection, interject. Compare typologically Russian прики́дывать (prikídyvatʹ) (akin to кида́ть (kidátʹ)).

*(H)yeh₁- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Philosophy & Reasoning General Vocabulary

External links

# conjecture

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /kənˈd͡ʒɛk.t͡ʃɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /kənˈd͡ʒɛk.t͡ʃə(ɹ)/
**Frequency rank:** 21504

## Meanings
1. A guess or opinion based on incomplete evidence.
2. To guess or form an opinion without solid proof.

## Examples
- Whether he understood or not is pure conjecture.
- I conjecture that the recipe uses two parts sugar, but I'm only guessing.

## Derived Forms
- conjecturability
- conjecturable
- conjecturingly
- metaconjecture
- misconjecture
- unconjectured

## Related Forms
- conject
- conjectural

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *(H)yeh₁-

## Etymology
From Old French, from Latin coniectūra (“a guess”), from coniectus, perfect passive participle of cōniciō (“throw or cast together; guess”), from con- (“together”) + iaciō (“throw, hurl”); see jet. Compare adjective, eject, inject, project, reject, subject, object, trajectory, deject, abject, surjection, bijection, interject. Compare typologically Russian прики́дывать (prikídyvatʹ) (akin to кида́ть (kidátʹ)).

## AI Etymology
Conjecture is from Old French, from Latin coniectūra (“a guess”), from coniectus, perfect passive participle of cōniciō (“throw or cast together; guess”), from con- (“together”) + iaciō (“throw, hurl”); see jet. Compare adjective, eject, inject, project, reject, subject, object, trajectory, deject, abject, surjection, bijection, interject. Compare typologically Russian прики́дывать (prikídyvatʹ) (akin to кида́ть (kidátʹ)). The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern form is built from the named base and affix. Important recorded forms include *(H)yeh₁- (Proto-Indo-European). Current senses include a guess or opinion based on incomplete evidence and to guess or form an opinion without solid proof. The wider family includes derived forms such as conjecturability, conjecturable, conjecturingly, metaconjecture, and misconjecture; related words such as conject and conjectural.

## Topics
- Philosophy & Reasoning
- General Vocabulary

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