All 3 Uses of
speculate
in
Atlas Shrugged
- To talk of what would have happened if we had acted differently is nothing but purely theoretical speculation.
Chpt 2.5 *speculation = guessing
- Mr. Weatherby had not answered his pleas, but had said, in a tone of idly irrelevant speculation, "Wesley has so many tough problems."
Chpt 2.5speculation = thought
- But this is purely theoretical speculation, because, as a matter of practical fact, all private establishments of scientific research have been closed by law-by Directive 10-289, issued, as you might not realize, by Mr. Wesley Mouch.
Chpt 3.3
Definitions:
-
(1)
(speculate as in: don't know, but I'll speculate) to think about, wonder, guess or theorize with much uncertainty
-
(2)
(speculate as in: speculate in the stock market) to take a risk for profit--typically a risky investment
-
(3)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Much more rarely, speculation can refer to a gambling card game that was popular in the past.