speculator

C1 Topic:People & Society

US /ˈspɛk.jəˌleɪ.tɚ/ UK /ˈspɛk.jʊˌleɪ.tə/ See IPA manual

Freq #62730

Meanings

1

noun
a person who buys or sells assets in the hope of profiting from uncertain price changes

The speculator bought the shares expecting their price to rise sharply.
2

noun
a person who forms theories or conjectures without complete evidence

Early speculators proposed elaborate models of the universe without experimental proof.
3

noun
a person who observes or reflects on a subject

The philosophical speculator considered what could be known beyond immediate experience.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person who buys or sells... market traderrisk-takerplunger

2 noun · a person who forms theories... theoristconjecturer

3 noun · a person who observes or... observercontemplator

Word family

Forms speculators

Derived forms speculatrix

Related forms speculate speculation speculative spectator gambler investor

Etymology

From Latin speculator ("observer, scout, spy"), from speculari ("to watch, examine"), ultimately from specere ("to look"). English speculate developed both intellectual conjecture and risky financial dealing, and speculator names the person in either activity.

Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# speculator

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈspɛk.jəˌleɪ.tɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈspɛk.jʊˌleɪ.tə/
**Frequency rank:** 62730

## Meanings
1. a person who buys or sells assets in the hope of profiting from uncertain price changes
2. a person who forms theories or conjectures without complete evidence
3. a person who observes or reflects on a subject

## Examples
- The speculator bought the shares expecting their price to rise sharply.
- Early speculators proposed elaborate models of the universe without experimental proof.
- The philosophical speculator considered what could be known beyond immediate experience.

## Synonyms
- market trader
- risk-taker
- theorist
- conjecturer
- contemplator

## Derived Forms
- speculatrix

## Related Forms
- speculate
- speculation
- speculative
- spectator
- gambler
- investor

## Etymology
From Latin speculator ("observer, scout, spy"), from speculari ("to watch, examine"), ultimately from specere ("to look"). English speculate developed both intellectual conjecture and risky financial dealing, and speculator names the person in either activity.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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