to conjecture
7
7.6
- verb
- /kənˈdʒɛkʧər/
:
conjeturar
- Without all the facts, we can only conjecture about what happened that night.
- reasonable to conjecture
- researchers conjecture
And can't we conjecture at least that the army had maps?
- And can't we conjecture at least that the army had maps?
- OK, you may conjecture that it is impossible to free the clones.
- You sort of conjecture an idea then you say, is that right or not?
- Once it starts, we conjectured it won't stop.
Examples
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As humans, we have the ability to conjecture about what has meaning and value.
Blog text (14) -
Suppose we conjecture that the only thing intrinsically valuable is pleasure, and the only thing intrinsically bad is pain.
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You sort of conjecture an idea then you say, is that right or not?
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And I leave it to you to conjecture where that new place will be.
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No, in this story we simply cannot conjecture beyond a certain point.
Academic text (1991) -
Now I would conjecture that the short answer to that question is skill.
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In this environment, it is risky to conjecture about future development, but there are trends that give clues.
Academic text (1999) -
What is known or can be conjectured about the tendency of these different groups to degrade their land?
Academic text (2000) -
Perhaps, we conjectured, those virtual pairs would not be highly correlated with the total spin.
Academic text (1995) -
We could guess or speculate or conjecture about Obama's inner compass, his dream, but we don't have to.
Synonyms
∞
2.7
To think something is true without clear proof
∞
1.0
To form an opinion or estimate without enough information
925
3.6
To think something is likely true without definite proof
254
4.8
To think about possible reasons or outcomes when there are not enough facts
89
4.9
To show that something is likely true because of evidence
39
6.1
Form an idea to explain why something happens with little proof
22
7.2
To suggest an idea about why something happens that can be tested
17
7.5
To suggest that something is true to explain facts
Suggest a possible explanation without strong evidence
Antonyms
How Certain
Surface Forms
Morphology
conjecture = con + ject + ure
The verb shares the same formation (con- + -ject- + -ure), but the sense 'to guess' is not transparently predictable from the component meanings for an average learner.
Etymology
To conjecture is originally 'to throw together' an idea, from con- 'together' and -ject 'throw', the same root you see in project or reject. So to conjecture is to form a guess from limited facts.