speculate

C1 Topic:Actions & Processes

Also spelled specalat’n and spec’lated

US /ˈspɛk.jəˌleɪt/ UK /ˈspɛk.jʊˌleɪt/ See IPA manual

Freq #15326

Meanings

1

verb
To form a guess or opinion about something without having all the facts.

Reporters began to speculate about why the minister had resigned.
2

verb
To buy or invest in something risky in the hope of making a large profit.

He speculated on the stock market and lost most of his savings.
3

verb
To think deeply and at length about a subject.

The philosophers speculated on the nature of time itself.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to form a guess or opinion... conjecture

2 verb · to buy or invest in... job

3 verb · to think deeply and at... muse

Word family

Forms speculatedspeculatesspeculating

Derived forms misspeculateoverspeculatespeculatistunspeculatedunspeculating

Related forms species spectacle spectacular speculation speculative speculator

Appears in

Proverbs (1)

See all

If you don't speculate, you can't accumulate

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin speculātus, perfect active participle of speculor (“to watch, observe, examine, spy”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from specula (“a watchtower”), ultimately from speciō (“to look at”).

*speḱ- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# speculate

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈspɛk.jəˌleɪt/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈspɛk.jʊˌleɪt/
**Frequency rank:** 15326

## Meanings
1. To form a guess or opinion about something without having all the facts.
2. To buy or invest in something risky in the hope of making a large profit.
3. To think deeply and at length about a subject.

## Examples
- Reporters began to speculate about why the minister had resigned.
- He speculated on the stock market and lost most of his savings.
- The philosophers speculated on the nature of time itself.

## Derived Forms
- misspeculate
- overspeculate
- speculatist
- unspeculated
- unspeculating

## Related Forms
- species
- spectacle
- spectacular
- speculation
- speculative
- speculator

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *speḱ-

## Etymology
Borrowed from Latin speculātus, perfect active participle of speculor (“to watch, observe, examine, spy”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from specula (“a watchtower”), ultimately from speciō (“to look at”).

## AI Etymology
Speculate is borrowed from Latin speculātus, perfect active participle of speculor (“to watch, observe, examine, spy”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from specula (“a watchtower”), ultimately from speciō (“to look at”). A key historical form is Proto-Indo-European *speḱ-. In present-day use, it can mean to form a guess or opinion about something without having all the facts, or to buy or invest in something risky in the hope of making a large profit. Derived formations include misspeculate, overspeculate, speculatist, unspeculated, unspeculating.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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