The tragedy has been so uncommon, so complete and of such personal importance to so many people, that we are suffering from a plethora of surmise, conjecture, and hypothesis.
Source: tatoeba (6957463)
Surmise
/sɜːˈmaɪz/
Synonyms for "surmise" (142 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (29)
Verb(2 words)
Strong matches (42)
Related words (71)
let belook upon asmaintainnotionopineperhapspostulatepostulationpostulatumpredictprefigurepremisepresumepresumptionpresupposalpresupposepresuppositionpresurmisepretendproposition
Show 38 more words
provisionally acceptreckonregardreputerisk assumingrough guesssaysenseset down asset of postulatesshotspeculatespeculationstabsupposalsupposesupposingsuppositionsuspectsuspiciontaketake fortake for grantedtake ittake to betheorizetheorythesisthinktrowunderstandunderstandingunverified suppositionventure a guessview asweenwild guessworking hypothesis
Verb(3 words)
Adjective(2 words)
pure guessworkrandom guessing
Noun(8 words)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: conjecture, guess, account as, ascribe, assume.
- Sentence evidence is available for surmise, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wordnet, opengloss, moby, derived_reverse, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "surmise".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "surmise"
Keep "surmise" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "surmise" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "surmise", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "surmise" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
14 entriesMore specific
5 entriesCollocations
12 entriesa surmisebased on surmisecareful surmisemake a surmisepremature surmisereasonable surmisesound surmisesurmise aboutsurmise from datasurmise thatunfounded surmisewild surmise
Inflections
3 entriesDerivations
2 entriesSample sentences
16 total sentences available.
Those are the main facts of the case, stripped of all surmise, and stated as baldly as possible.
Source: tatoeba (6957580)
"What do you think of my theory?" "It is all surmise."
Source: tatoeba (6976441)
We see in nature the cycling or spiralling of things. Subsequently, we can surmise that a being may have such cycling or spiralling of life and death by some element, soul or consciousness stream, of that being. My father, before his death, told me that he would be reborn through "mind" transmigration in a new body, a baby, in a different world, "planet," he clarified. There, he would live a new life. Everywhere in nature, there is cycling or spiralling.
Source: tatoeba (10564039)
Showing 4 of 16 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "surmise"?
Closest matches include conjecture, guess, account as, ascribe, assume.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "surmise"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.