Noun

(en noun)

(countable) A firmly held belief.

(countable) A judgement of guilt in a court of law.

* {{quote-news

, year=2011 , date=December 14 , author=Steven Morris , title=Devon woman jailed for 168 days for killing kitten in microwave , work=Guardian citation , page= , passage=He said Robins had not been in trouble with the law before and had no previous convictions . Jail would have an adverse effect on her and her three children as she was the main carer.}}

(uncountable) The state of being found or proved guilty.

(uncountable) The state of being convinced.

* 2013 , Daniel Taylor, Rickie Lambert's debut goal gives England victory over Scotland'' (in ''The Guardian , 14 August 2013)[http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/aug/14/england-scotland-international-friendly]

The visitors were being pinned back by the end of the first half. Yet Gordon Strachan's side played with great conviction and always had a chance of springing a surprise when their opponents were so susceptible at the back.

Noun

(wikipedia speculation) (en noun)

The process of thinking or meditating on a subject.

* Milton

Thenceforth to speculations high or deep I turned my thoughts.

* 2012 , Caroline Davies, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge announce they are expecting first baby'' (in ''The Guardian , 3 December 2012)[http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/dec/03/duke-and-duchess-of-cambridge-expecting-baby?intcmp=122]

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have ended months of intense speculation by announcing they are expecting their first child, but were forced to share their news earlier than hoped because of the Duchess's admission to hospital on Monday.

(philosophy) The act or process of reasoning a priori from premises given or assumed.

A conclusion to which the mind comes by speculating; mere theory; notion; conjecture.

* Sir W. Temple

From him Socrates derived the principles of morality, and most part of his natural speculations .

* Macaulay

To his speculations on these subjects he gave the lofty name of the "Oracles of Reason".

(business, finance) An investment involving higher-than-normal risk in order to obtain a higher-than-normal return.

The act or practice of buying land, goods, shares, etc., in expectation of selling at a higher price, or of selling with the expectation of repurchasing at a lower price; a trading on anticipated fluctuations in price, as distinguished from trading in which the profit expected is the difference between the retail and wholesale prices, or the difference of price in different markets.

* A. Smith

Sudden fortunes, indeed, are sometimes made in such places, by what is called the trade of speculation .

* F. A. Walker

Speculation , while confined within moderate limits, is the agent for equalizing supply and demand, and rendering the fluctuations of price less sudden and abrupt than they would otherwise be.

Examination by the eye; view.

(obsolete) Power of sight.

* Shakespeare

Thou hast no speculation in those eyes.

A card game in which the players buy from one another trumps or whole hands, upon a chance of getting the highest trump dealt, which entitles the holder to the pool of stakes.