A message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence.

synonyms: conjecture, guess, hypothesis, speculation, supposition, surmisal.

Roget 484: belief; credence; credit; assurance; faith, trust, troth, confidence, presumption, sanguine expectation etc. (hope) 858; dependence on, reliance on.    persuasion, conviction, convincement^†, plerophory^†, self-conviction; certainty etc. 474; opinion, mind, view; conception, thinking; impression etc. (idea) 453; surmise etc. 514; conclusion etc. (judgment) 480.    tenet, dogma, principle, way of thinking; popular belief etc. (assent) 488.    firm belief, implicit belief, settled belief, fixed rooted deep-rooted belief, staunch belief, unshaken belief, steadfast belief, inveterate belief, calm belief, sober belief, dispassionate belief, impartial belief, well-founded belief, firm opinion, implicit opinion, settled opinion, fixed rooted deep-rooted opinion, staunch opinion, unshaken opinion, steadfast opinion, inveterate opinion, calm opinion, sober opinion, dispassionate opinion, impartial opinion, well-founded opinion &c.; uberrima fides [Lat.].    system of opinions, school, doctrine, articles, canons; article of faith, declaration of faith, profession of faith; tenets, credenda^†, creed; thirty-nine articles etc. (orthodoxy) 983.1; catechism; assent etc. 488; propaganda etc. (teaching) 537.    credibility etc. (probability) 472.    ... show more

Roget 514: supposition, assumption, assumed position, postulation, condition, presupposition, hypothesis, blue sky hypothesis, postulate, postulatum [Lat.], theory; thesis, theorem; data; proposition, position; proposal etc. (plan) 626; presumption etc. (belief) 484; divination.    conjecture; guess, guesswork, speculation; rough guess, shot, shot in the dark [Coll.]; conjecturality^†; surmise, suspicion, sneaking suspicion; estimate, approximation (nearness) 197.    inkling, suggestion, hint, intimation, notion, impression; bare supposition, vague supposition, loose supposition, loose suggestion.    association of ideas, (analogy) 514.1; metonym [Gramm.], metonymy [Gramm.], simile (metaphor) 521.    conceit, idea, thought; original idea, invention (imagination) 515.    ... show more

Dutch: vermoeden, denk, giswerk, speculatie
Polish: spekulacyjka

Infer from incomplete evidence.

Roget 484: believe, credit; give faith to, give credit to, credence to; see, realize; assume, receive; set down for, take for; have it, take it; consider, esteem, presume.    count upon, depend upon, calculate upon, pin one's faith upon, reckon upon, lean upon, build upon, rely upon, rest upon; lay one's account for; make sure of.    make oneself easy about, on that score; take on trust, take on credit; take for granted, take for gospel; allow some weight to, attach some weight to.    know, know for certain; have know, make no doubt; doubt not; be, rest assured etc. adj.; persuade oneself, assure oneself, satisfy oneself; make up one's mind.    give one credit for; confide in, believe in, put one's trust in; place in, repose in, implicit confidence in; take one's word for, at one's word; place reliance on, rely upon, swear by, regard to.    think, hold; take, take it; opine, be of opinion, conceive, trow^†, ween^†, fancy, apprehend; have it, hold a belief, possess, entertain a belief, adopt a belief, imbibe a belief, embrace a belief, get hold of a belief, hazard, foster, nurture a belief, cherish a belief, have an opinion, hold an opinion, possess, entertain an opinion, adopt an opinion, imbibe an opinion, embrace an opinion, get hold of an opinion, hazard an opinion, foster an opinion, nurture an opinion, cherish an opinion etc. n.. view as, consider as, take as, hold as, conceive as, regard as, esteem as, deem as, look upon as, account as, set down as; surmise etc. 514.    get it into one's head, take it into one's head; come round to an opinion; swallow etc. (credulity) 486.    cause to be believed etc. v.; satisfy, persuade, have the ear of, gain the confidence of, assure; convince, convict^†, convert; wean, bring round; bring over, win over; indoctrinate etc. (teach) 537; cram down the throat; produce conviction, carry conviction; bring home to, drive home to.    go down, find credence, pass current; be received etc. v., be current etc. adj.; possess, take hold of, take possession of the mind.    ... show more

Imagine to be the case or true or probable:
— I surmised that the butler did it.

synonym: suspect.

Roget 514: suppose, conjecture, surmise, suspect, guess, divine; theorize; presume, presurmise^†, presuppose; assume, fancy, wis^†, take it; give a guess, speculate, believe, dare say, take it into one's head, take for granted; imagine etc. 515.    put forth; propound, propose; start, put a case, submit, move, make a motion; hazard out, throw out a suggestion, put forward a suggestion, put forward conjecture.    allude to, suggest, hint, put it into one's head.    suggest itself etc. (thought) 451; run in the head etc. (memory) 505; marvel if, wonder if, wonder whether.    ... show more

Dutch: gissen, presumeren, assumeren