speculate

Definitions

1. 1.(Philos.) To view subjects from certain premises given or assumed, and infer conclusions respecting them a priori.
2. 2.(Com.) To purchase with the expectation of a contingent advance in value, and a consequent sale at a profit; -- often, in a somewhat depreciative sense, of unsound or hazardous transactions; as, to speculate in coffee, in sugar, or in bank stock.
3. 3.To consider attentively; as, to speculate the nature of a thing. [R.] Sir W. Hamilton.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

Synonyms

Related questions

• What does "speculate" mean?
• What is another word for "speculate"?

Reverse-dictionary questions

Definition-first questions whose answer is speculate.

• What is to view subjects from certain premises given or assumed, and infer conclusions respecting them a priori called?
• What is to consider attentively; as, to speculate the nature of a thing. [R.] Sir W. Hamilton called?