SPECULATES Synonyms: 34 Similar and Opposite Words

speculates

verb

present tense third-person singular of speculate

as in assumes

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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Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of speculates Then there’s the design of work question, Sen speculates. — Joe McKendrick, Forbes.com, 26 June 2026 Sandoval then speculates that Victoria, who was sitting in a nearby chair, was recording the dispute. — Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 26 June 2026 But Mehl speculates that modern information technologies have played a large role. — Markham Heid, Time, 28 Apr. 2026 O’Farrell speculates, reasonably, that Hamnet may have been a victim of bubonic plague, and her book centers on the family’s grief in the aftermath of his death. — Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 1 June 2026 Since glaciers didn’t flow right into Salisbury, the study speculates the stone, thought to have served as an altar, was deposited hundreds of miles east, beneath what is now the North Sea. — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 4 June 2026 The purpose of manganese in the region below the aculeus, the team speculates, is probably to improve the flexibility and absorption of vibrations. — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 1 May 2026 The feds did not specify the exact reason for the order, but Anthropic speculates that the directive may be related to a potential jailbreaking method for Fable 5. — Will McCurdy, PC Magazine, 13 June 2026 In the 2021 edition of the novel published by Ediciones Uniandes, Carolina Alzate speculates that this could be referring to a town near Natagaima, currently in Tolima. — Literary Hub, 1 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for speculates

Verb

The Gulf, though legally unchanged, now assumes direct Iranian strike risks.

— Güney Yıldız, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
Photos of the chefs are right there on the packaging, and the service correctly assumes that their reputations will draw you in.

— Marisa Malanga, Bon Appetit Magazine, 27 June 2026

Definition of assumes

Verb

Celebrity nail artist Queenie Nguyen thinks so—and there's no more perfect manicure than Capri Blue to match the moment.

— Audrey Noble, Vogue, 2 July 2026
Putin thinks that time is on his side, that Western support will peter out and that Ukraine’s resistance will eventually collapse under pressure from strategic bombing, analysts say.

— Hanna Arhirova, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026

Definition of thinks

Verb

Creativity, though, presumes a background in classic technique onto which a personal point of view is added.

— Laura Clawson, JSTOR Daily, 3 July 2026
That level presumes an 11 percent underlying rate, plus a 7 percent benefit from the World Cup, partially offset by a 1 percent drag from Middle East operations.

— Vicki M. Young, Footwear News, 30 June 2026

Definition of presumes

Verb

No parent ever imagines spending a holiday within hospital walls, so these traditions aim to give them something to look forward to and enjoy in the midst of it all.

— Kayla Grant, PEOPLE, 4 July 2026
Ward imagines a space inside a space, not unlike the custom tents and custom builds popular in luxury weddings right now (one tent took five days to assemble and recreate a Greek Orthodox church, Vogue reported).

— Ramishah Maruf, CNN Money, 1 July 2026

Definition of imagines

Verb

Nicole Brown, a historian of Martha Jefferson at Monticello, suspects that the impossible date was the result of turmoil in Jefferson’s personal life.

— Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 3 July 2026
The plot follows an HR executive named Val at a South Bay aerospace company who suspects that Leela, a young, female engineer, was snubbed for a promotion.

— Randy McMullen, Mercury News, 2 July 2026