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Guess vs Speculation - What's the difference?

guess | speculation | Related terms |

In obsolete terms the difference between guess and speculation

is that guess is to hit upon or reproduce by memory while speculation is power of sight.

As nouns the difference between guess and speculation

is that guess is a prediction about the outcome of something, typically made without factual evidence or support while speculation is the process of thinking or meditating on a subject.

As a verb guess

is to reach a partly (or totally) unqualified conclusion.

guess

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) . More at (l).

Verb

  • To reach a partly (or totally) unqualified conclusion.
  • To solve by a correct conjecture; to conjecture rightly.
  • He who guesses the riddle shall have the ring.
  • (chiefly, US) to suppose (introducing a proposition of uncertain plausibility).
  • That album is quite hard to find, but I guess you could try ordering it online.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Not all together; better far, I guess , / That we do make our entrance several ways.
  • * Alexander Pope
  • But in known images of life I guess / The labour greater.
  • *
  • (obsolete) To hit upon or reproduce by memory.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Tell me their words, as near as thou canst guess them.
    Synonyms
    * hypothesize * take a stab * speculate
    Derived terms
    * foreguess * guess what * guessable * guesser * guessing game * guesstimate * guesswork * keep someone guessing * no prize for guessing * out-guess * second-guess * you'll never guess

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) gesse. Cognate with (etyl) .

    Noun

    (es)
  • A prediction about the outcome of something, typically made without factual evidence or support.
  • If you don't know the answer, take a guess .
  • *
  • Synonyms
    * estimate * hypothesis * prediction
    Derived terms
    * another-guess * anyone's guess * by guess or by gosh * educated guess * guesswork * guesstimate * otherguess * take a guess * your guess is as good as mine

    speculation

    English

    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.
  • Synonyms

    * See also

    Derived terms

    * "on speculation" (on spec) Creating a work with the hope of selling it, as opposed to creating a work "on commission" for hire.

    Anagrams

    * *