Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Of, characterized by, or based upon contemplative speculation. See Synonyms at theoretical.
- adj. Given to conjecture or speculation.
- adj. Marked by inquisitive interest: raised a speculative eyebrow.
- adj. Engaging in, given to, or involving financial speculation: speculative brokers; speculative stocks.
- adj. Spent in speculation: speculative funds.
- adj. Involving chance; risky: speculative business enterprises.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Pertaining to or affording vision or outlook: a meaning influenced by Latin specula, ‘a watch-tower.’
- Given to speculation; contemplative; theoretical.
- Purely scientific; having knowledge as its end; theoretical: opposed to practical; also (limiting a noun denoting a person and signifying his opinions or character), in theory, and not, or not merely, in practice; also, cognitive; intellectual. In this sense (which has no connection with speculation), speculative translates Aristotle's
θεωρητικός . Thus, speculative science is science pursued for its own sake, without immediate reference to the needs of life, and does not exclude experimental science. - Inferential; known by reasoning, and not by direct experience: opposed to intuitive; also, improperly, purely a priori. This meaning was introduced into Latin by Anselm, with reference to 1 Cor. xiii. 12, where the Vulgate has speculum. Speculative cognition is cognition not intuitive.
- Pertaining or given to speculation in trade; engaged in speculation, or precarious ventures for the chance of large profits; of the nature of financial speculation: as, a speculative trader; speculative investments or business.
Wiktionary
- adj. Characterized by speculation; based on guessing or unfounded opinions.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Given to speculation; contemplative.
- adj. Involving, or formed by, speculation; ideal; theoretical; not established by demonstration.
- adj. rare Of or pertaining to vision; also, prying; inquisitive; curious.
- adj. Of or pertaining to speculation in land, goods, shares, etc..
- adj. (Finance) More risky than typical investments; not investment grade.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. showing curiosity
- adj. not financially safe or secure
- adj. not based on fact or investigation
Examples
“I like the term speculative fiction because it encompasses a broad range of genres and tropes: SF, fantasy, horror, alt history, etc.”
“I prefer the term speculative fiction anyway and imagining the throught process of a chimp is certainly speculative.”
“Traders say the most recent bout of selling isn't coming from fast-moving hedge funds making short term speculative bets.”
“On Thursday, Zambia's High Court in Lusaka had banned private media organizations from announcing election results until the official outcome was released, in a bid to tamp what it called "speculative stories.”
“Sometimes the reasons why readers avoid the speculative is the perception of its one-dimensionality and failure to embrace a diversity of cultures.”
MIND MELD: The Perfect SF/F/H Books to Give to People Who Don't Read SF/F/H
“Last month, the RBI placed limits on the unhedged currency positions that banks can hold overnight, and banned companies from cancelling and rebooking forwards contracts to clamp down on what it called speculative behavior.”
The Wall Street Journal: India Official: Rupee's Rise Not a Sign of Economic Bounceback
“The second demand for money is what we call the speculative demand for money, and it is based upon interest rates.”
“Billy Mays 'wife, Deborah, has disputed a lot of this, saying, releasing these report, which she described as speculative, were not necessary.”
“Grosse abounds in contempt for what he calls speculative Aesthetic.”
“Concerned Observer, Harrow, 06/06/2011 14:56 It's one thing to sell your own grandma for profit, quite another to do that to 31 000 elderly people in return for short term speculative cash.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘speculative’.
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Words related to knowledge
Words that relate to learning, knowing, being enlightened...
revelation, eureka, awakening, idea, sapient, astute, canny, intelligent, wise, sharp, shrewd, informed and 467 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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Personal Vocabulary List
All my favourite words that I come across!
veritable, incongruence, rigamorole, letcherous, revolting, repulsive, reputrid, rapatious, forays, guise, placate, paradigm and 1162 more...
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Masonry
Due to my absolute ignorance of masonry and masonic terms, this list is shamelessly copied from this masonic dictionary.
Feel free to add words (as soon as I complete my transcription).abif, accepted, accord, active member, adjournment, admonish, adoration, adversity, affiliate, affirmation, lawful age, aid of deity and 143 more...
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barron's 1100
paradox, fallacy, compound, prognosticate, implore, annals, badger, steep, furtive, laconic, hapless, plethora and 109 more...
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List 006
unprecedented, versatile, volatile, fickle, dormancy, copious, indubitable, speculative, supplementary, substantiate, fabrication, recapitulate and 15 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for speculative.
thesefourchildren "For this reason, in the medieval period, logic comes to be called a "speculative art" or, with grammar and rhetoric, a liberal art." - Great Ideas I, p.800
Jul 24, 2012
thesefourchildren "For this reason, in the medieval period, logic comes to be called a "speculative art" or, with grammar and rhetoric, a liberal art." - Great Ideas I, p.800 Jul 24, 2012
sarahatlee Speculative fiction and counterfactual fiction are sometimes used as alternatives to science fiction and sci-fi. Jul 9, 2007