What does "speculative" mean?
Speculative: Involving, or formed by, speculation; ideal; theoretical; not established by demonstration. Cudworth.
Additional senses
- 2.Of or pertaining to vision; also, prying; inquisitive; curious. [R.] Bacon.
- 3.Of or pertaining to speculation in land, goods, shares, etc.; as, a speculative dealer or enterprise. The speculative merchant exercises no one regular, established, or well-known branch of business. A. Smith. -- Spec"u*la*tive*ly, adv. -- Spec"u*la*tive*ness, n.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
- Canonical URL: https://worddirectanswers.com/answers/what-does-speculative-mean
- Steward: Jason Burns
- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00