Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Given to, characterized by, or based upon speculation or conjecture.
  • adjective Expressing inquisitive interest.
  • adjective Engaging in, given to, or involving financial speculation.
  • adjective Spent in speculation.
  • adjective Involving chance; risky.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • 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.
  • Inferential; known by reasoning, and not by direct experience: opposed to intuitive; also, improperly, purely a priori.
  • 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.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Given to speculation; contemplative.
  • adjective Involving, or formed by, speculation; ideal; theoretical; not established by demonstration.
  • adjective rare Of or pertaining to vision; also, prying; inquisitive; curious.
  • adjective Of or pertaining to speculation in land, goods, shares, etc..
  • adjective (Finance) More risky than typical investments; not investment grade.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Characterized by speculation; based on guessing or unfounded opinions.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective showing curiosity
  • adjective not financially safe or secure
  • adjective not based on fact or investigation

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word speculative.

Examples

  • I like the term speculative fiction because it encompasses a broad range of genres and tropes: SF, fantasy, horror, alt history, etc.

    Alternate history: SF, Fantasy, or Something else? Scott Parker 2009

  • I like the term speculative fiction because it encompasses a broad range of genres and tropes: SF, fantasy, horror, alt history, etc.

    Archive 2009-05-01 Scott Parker 2009

  • I prefer the term speculative fiction anyway and imagining the throught process of a chimp is certainly speculative.

    EP073: Barnaby in Exile 2006

  • Traders say the most recent bout of selling isn't coming from fast-moving hedge funds making short term speculative bets.

    Pressure Mounts for Central Bank Matt Phillips 2011

  • 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."

    Zambia Challenger Wins Nicholas Bariyo 2011

  • 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 2009

  • 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.

    India Official: Rupee's Rise Not a Sign of Economic Bounceback Abhrajit Gangopadhyay 2012

  • The second demand for money is what we call the speculative demand for money, and it is based upon interest rates.

    RETURN TO PROSPERITY Arthur B. Laffer 2010

  • Billy Mays 'wife, Deborah, has disputed a lot of this, saying, releasing these report, which she described as speculative, were not necessary.

    CNN Transcript Aug 12, 2009 2009

  • Grosse abounds in contempt for what he calls speculative Aesthetic.

    Aesthetic as Science of Expression and General Linguistic Benedetto Croce 1909

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • Speculative fiction and counterfactual fiction are sometimes used as alternatives to science fiction and sci-fi.

    July 9, 2007

  • "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

    July 24, 2012

  • "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

    July 24, 2012