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speculate |
3 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Speculate \Spec"u*late\, v. t. To consider attentively; as to speculate the nature of a thing [R.] --Sir W. Hamilton. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: 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 viewing it in its different aspects and relations; to meditate; to contemplate; to theorize; as to speculate on questions in religion; to speculate on political events. It is remarkable that persons who speculate the most boldly often conform with the most pefect quietude to the external regulations of society. --Hawthorne. 2. (Philos.) To view subjects from certain premises given or assumed, and infer conclusions respecting them a priori. 3. (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. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: speculate v 1: to believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds: "Scientists supposed that large dinosaurs lived in swamps." [syn: {theorize}, {theorise}, {conjecture}, {hypothesize}, {hypothecate}, {suppose}] 2: indulge in speculations 3: think about at length and in depth; "I mulled over the events of the afternoon" [syn: {chew over}, {think over}, {meditate}, {ponder}, {contemplate}, {muse}, {reflect}, {mull}, {mull over}, {ruminate}] 4: invest at a risk [syn: {job}]
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