speculation
part of speech
noun (speculation, speculations; also a speculation)
meaning for a pupil
1) Speculation is guessing about something without knowing all the facts. tree →
2) A speculation is one such guess or idea. tree →
3) (money) Speculation is buying things such as shares, land or houses hoping to sell them later for more money, which is risky. tree →
sense in the lessons
In news and gossip: «There is speculation that the star will leave the team». In science, a speculation is an idea not yet tested. In money talk it means risky buying. It tells the reader that something is not confirmed. Phrases: «pure speculation», «speculation about», «wild speculation», «fuel speculation».
examples
- There is a lot of speculation about who will be the new head teacher. tree →
- That is just speculation; we don't know for sure. tree →
- His absence caused speculation that he was ill. tree →
- Scientists' speculation about life on Mars needs evidence. tree →
- He lost his savings through speculation on shares. tree →
- Stop the wild speculation and wait for the facts. tree →
note
Verb: «speculate»; adjective: «speculative». Usually uncountable. Trap: speculation in the news is not fact; check for evidence.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «speculation» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.