surmise
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Surmise \Sur*mise"\ (s[^u]r*m[imac]z"), n. [OF. surmise
accusation, fr. surmettre, p. p. surmis, to impose, accuse;
sur (see {Sur-}) + mettre to put, set, L. mittere to send.
See {Mission}.]
1. A thought, imagination, or conjecture, which is based upon
feeble or scanty evidence; suspicion; guess; as, the
surmises of jealousy or of envy.
[1913 Webster]
[We] double honor gain
From his surmise proved false. --Milton.
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No man ought to be charged with principles he
actually disowns, unless his practicies contradict
his profession; not upon small surmises. --Swift.
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2. Reflection; thought. [Obs.] --Shak.
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Syn: Conjecture; supposition; suspicion; doubt.
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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Surmise \Sur*mise"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Surmised}; p. pr. &
vb. n. {Surmising}.]
To imagine without certain knowledge; to infer on slight
grounds; to suppose, conjecture, or suspect; to guess.
[1913 Webster]
It wafted nearer yet, and then she knew
That what before she but surmised, was true. --Dryden.
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This change was not wrought by altering the form or
position of the earth, as was surmised by a very
learned man, but by dissolving it. --Woodward.
[1913 Webster]
from
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
100 Moby Thesaurus words for "surmise":
account as, assume, assumption, axiom, be afraid, believe,
blind guess, bold conjecture, conceive, conclude, conclusion,
conjecture, consider, daresay, deduce, deem, divine, dream, esteem,
estimate, expect, fancy, feel, feeling, gather, grant, guess,
guesswork, have a hunch, have an idea, have an impression,
have an inkling, have the idea, hold, hold as, hunch, hypothesis,
hypothesize, imagine, infer, inference, judge, let, let be,
look upon as, maintain, notion, opine, perhaps, postulate,
postulation, postulatum, prefigure, premise, presume, presumption,
presupposal, presuppose, presupposition, presurmise, pretend,
proposition, provisionally accept, reckon, regard, repute,
risk assuming, rough guess, say, sense, set down as,
set of postulates, shot, speculate, speculation, stab, supposal,
suppose, supposing, supposition, suspect, suspicion, take,
take for, take for granted, take it, take to be, theorize, theory,
thesis, think, trow, understand, understanding,
unverified supposition, venture a guess, view as, ween, wild guess,
working hypothesis
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