speculation
noun
Simple meaning
Guessing about something without firm facts.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
spehkyuhlayshuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
spɛkjəˈleɪʃən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
businessfinance
An investment involving higher-than-normal risk in order to obtain a higher-than-normal return.
The act or practice of buying land, goods, shares, etc., in expectation of selling at a higher price, or of selling with the expectation of repurchasing at a lower price; a trading on anticipated fluctuations in price, as distinguished from trading in which the profit expected is the difference between the retail and wholesale prices, or the difference of price in different markets.
A conclusion to which the mind comes by speculating; mere theory; notion; conjecture.
The process or act of thinking or meditating on a subject.
A card game in which the players buy from one another trumps or whole hands, upon a chance of getting the highest trump dealt, which entitles the holder to the pool of stakes.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: An investment involving higher-than-normal risk in order to obtain a higher-than-normal return.
Used this way, speculation is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a financial use: it has a settled meaning in accounting and business, where precision matters more than colour.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Finance/economics
- Business/professional
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use speculation
- “Speculations about the outcome of the election.”noun
- “He knew the stock was a speculation when he bought it.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Conclusion
Practice
Continuous
Other combinations
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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: investment involving higher-than-normal risk in order to obtain a higher-than-normal return
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