surmise

/sə:'maiz/
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surmise

Based on the evidence, the detective's surmise was that the gardener had taken the key.

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.
surmise

Based on the evidence, the detective's surmise was that the gardener had taken the key.

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

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