speculate

speculate
verb
ADVERB
openly, publicly

Commentators are openly speculating on whether the accusation is false.

widely
wildly

The British press speculated wildly about his disappearance.

VERB + SPECULATE
can only
be free to, feel free to

Both sides are free to speculate on the other's motives.

decline to, refuse to
be interesting to, be tempting to
be possible to, be reasonable to

It would seem entirely reasonable to speculate that tribal loyalties influenced the outcome of the election.

be premature to

It would be premature to speculate as to the outcome at this stage.

be difficult to
PREPOSITION
about

There was no point in speculating about the possibility of them getting back together.

as to

We can only speculate as to this man's identity.

on, upon

He refused to speculate on her reasons for leaving.

Speculate is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑newspaper

Collocations dictionary. 2013.

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  • speculate — spec‧u‧late [ˈspekjleɪt] verb 1. [intransitive] FINANCE to buy goods, shares, property etc in the hope that their value will increase so that you can sell them at a higher price and make a profit, often quickly: speculate in • Investors may… …   Financial and business terms

  • Speculate — Spec u*late, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Speculated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Speculating}.] [L. speculatus, p. p. of speculari to spy out, observe, fr. specula a lookout, fr. specere to look. See {Spy}.] 1. To consider by turning a subject in the mind, and… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • speculate — spec·u·late / spe kyə ˌlāt/ vb lat·ed, lat·ing vi 1: to theorize on the basis of insufficient evidence ◇ A jury is not permitted to speculate on a matter about which insufficient evidence has been presented in reaching its verdict. 2: to assume a …   Law dictionary

  • Speculate — Spec u*late, v. t. To consider attentively; as, to speculate the nature of a thing. [R.] Sir W. Hamilton. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • speculate — [v1] think about deeply and theorize beat one’s brains*, brainstorm*, build castles in air*, call it, call the turn, cerebrate, chew over*, cogitate, conjecture, consider, contemplate, deliberate, dope*, dope out*, excogitate, figure, figure out* …   New thesaurus

  • speculate — (v.) 1590s, back formation from SPECULATION (Cf. speculation). Related: Speculated; speculating …   Etymology dictionary

  • speculate — reason, reflect, *think, cogitate, deliberate Analogous words: *ponder, meditate, muse, ruminate: *consider, weigh, study, contemplate, excogitate …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • speculate — ► VERB 1) form a theory or conjecture without firm evidence. 2) invest in stocks, property, or other ventures in the hope of financial gain but with the risk of loss. DERIVATIVES speculation noun speculator noun. ORIGIN Latin speculari observe ,… …   English terms dictionary

  • speculate — [spek′yə lāt΄] vi. speculated, speculating [< L speculatus, pp. of speculari, to view < specula, watchtower < specere, to see: see SPY] 1. to think about the various aspects of a given subject; meditate; ponder; esp., to conjecture 2. to …   English World dictionary

  • speculate — v. 1) (D; intr.) ( to meditate, think ) to speculate about, on (to speculate about what might have been) 2) (D; intr.) ( to conduct business by taking risks ) to speculate in; on (to speculate in oil shares; to speculate in gold; to speculate on… …   Combinatory dictionary

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