Definition

1. Verb:

   • To form an opinion or conclusion based on limited or incomplete evidence; to infer something without certain proof.
   • To suspect or suppose something to be true.

2. Noun:

   • An idea or conclusion formed based on incomplete evidence; a conjecture or guess.

Usage and Examples

• Verb:

  • From the look on her face, I surmised that the news was not good.
  • The detective surmised the identity of the culprit from a single fingerprint.
  • We can only surmise what his true intentions were.

• Noun:

  • My surmise about the cause of the delay turned out to be correct.
  • Her theory is more than a wild surmise; it's based on some solid observations.
  • He acted on a mere surmise, which was a risky strategy.

Advanced Usage and Nuances

• "To hazard a surmise": To venture a guess, especially when it involves some risk of being wrong.
  • I wouldn't hazard a surmise about the stock market's future.
• Often used in formal or literary contexts to describe reasoning in the absence of full information. It implies a degree of thought and inference beyond a simple guess.

Variants and Related Words

• Surmisable (adj): Capable of being surmised or conjectured.
  • The outcome was not surmisable from the data we had.
• Surmisal (n): (Rare, formal) The act of surmising; a conjecture.
  • His argument was built upon a series of surmisals.

Synonyms

• Verb: Infer, conjecture, suppose, suspect, presume, guess, deduce.
• Noun: Inference, conjecture, supposition, presumption, guess, hypothesis.

Antonyms

• Verb: Know, prove, ascertain, confirm, demonstrate.
• Noun: Fact, certainty, knowledge, proof.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• "A reasonable surmise": A conjecture that is likely or logical given the available clues.
  • Given the broken window, it was a reasonable surmise that someone had broken in.
• "On/upon the surmise that...": Based on the guess or assumption that...
  • He acted on the surmise that she would agree, but he was mistaken.

Noun

1. a message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence

Verb

1. imagine to be the case or true or probable
   • I suspect he is a fugitive
   • I surmised that the butler did it
2. infer from incomplete evidence