surmisal
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: A message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence; a conclusion or judgment reached on the basis of limited information. It is a formal term for a guess or conjecture.
Usage
The noun "surmisal" is used to describe the act of forming an opinion without conclusive proof or the opinion itself. It is a formal and somewhat rare synonym for "surmise." - It typically functions as the subject or object of a sentence. - It is often preceded by articles like "a," "the," or possessive pronouns like "her," "their."
Examples
- As a subject:
- Her surmisal about the cause of the noise proved to be correct.
- As an object:
- The detective's report was filled with clever surmisal rather than hard facts.
- We cannot act on mere surmisal; we need concrete evidence.
Advanced Usage
- "A surmisal of": Used to indicate the content or subject of the guess.
- His theory began as a surmisal of the defendant's motives.
Variants and Related Words
- Surmise (n.): The much more common noun form with identical meaning.
- My surmise was that they had already left.
- Surmise (v.): To suppose something is true without having evidence to confirm it.
- I surmised from his tone that he was unhappy.
- Conjecture (n./v.): A similar formal term for an opinion formed on the basis of incomplete information.
- Speculation (n.): The forming of a theory or conjecture without firm evidence.
Synonyms
- Guess
- Conjecture
- Supposition
- Inference
- Presumption
- Speculation
Antonyms
- Fact
- Certainty
- Knowledge
- Proof
- Evidence
Noun
- a message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence