speculation
/ˌspɛkjʊˈleɪʃn
/noun [mass noun]
1The forming of a theory or conjecture without firm evidence: there has been widespread speculation that he plans to quit this is pure speculation on my part [count noun]: these are only speculations...
- The Prime Minister's press chief returned from Washington yesterday amid unprecedented speculation he was going to resign.
- Into this vacuum of information came the very worst kind of speculation, the most extreme of views.
- The profitability of the trade has given rise to speculation that money from wildlife is financing terrorist activities.
Synonyms
conjecture, theorizing, hypothesizing, supposition, guesswork;
talk;
theory, hypothesis, thesis, postulation, guess, surmise, opinion, notion;
prediction, forecast
informal guesstimate
gamble, venture, risk;
gambling;
investment
informal spec
British informal flutter
archaic adventure
2Investment in stocks, property, etc. in the hope of gain but with the risk of loss: the company’s move into property speculation [count noun]: he was a millionaire from speculations on the stock market...
- The fate of European companies may be determined in a split of a second through speculation on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
- Savings must become the driving force behind sound investment, replacing the current mess commanded by financial credit and endemic speculation.
- Soon, all of the jobs go to countries that have not yet discovered the ' something for nothing ' world of real estate speculation.