All 3 Uses of
conjecture
in
Robinson Crusoe
- ...nor can any one describe my horror and amazement, when I saw the ground spread with sculls, hands, feet, and bones of human bodies; and particularly, I perceived a space like a circle, in the midst of which had been a fire, about which I conjectured these wretches sat, and unnaturally sacrificed and devoured their fellow creatures.
*conjectured = concluded or guessed
- While I was seriously pondering upon it, I was suddenly alarmed with the noise of a gun, which I conjectured was fired upon the ocean.
conjectured = concluded or guessed based on inconclusive evidence
- But as all these conjectures were very uncertain, I could do no more than commiserate there distress, and thank God for delivering me, in particular, when so many perished in the raging ocean.
conjectures = guesses (opinions based on inconclusive evidence)
Definition:
-
(conjecture) a conclusion or opinion based on inconclusive evidence; or the act of forming of such a conclusion or opinioneditor's notes: A conjecture can be widely believed, but the word is also frequently used to imply that evidence is insufficient to support a belief.