Both Uses of
speculate
in
Change of Heart, by Picoult
- But when editorials in the Concord Monitor and the Union Leader criticized the barbarism of a public execution (they speculated that any paparazzi capable of crashing Madonna's wedding in a helicopter would also be able to get footage of the hanging), the warden scrambled to conceal the scaffold.†
*speculated = thought, wondered, guessed, or theorized
- Speculation.†
Definitions:
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(1)
(speculate as in: don't know, but I'll speculate) to think about, wonder, guess or theorize with much uncertainty
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(2)
(speculate as in: speculate in the stock market) to take a risk for profit--typically a risky investment
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(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.