conjecture
noun
- critical reconstruction of a clearly contaminated or illegible textual fragment
verb
- to form a supposition on admittedly insufficient grounds
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /kənˈd͡ʒɛk.t͡ʃə(ɹ)/ / /kənˈd͡ʒɛk.t͡ʃɚ/ / /kənˈd͡ʒek.t͡ʃə(ɹ)/
noun
Etymology: From Old French, from Latin coniectūra (“a guess”), from coniectus, perfect passive participle of cōniciō (“throw or cast together; guess”), from con- (“together”) + iaciō (“throw, hurl”); see jet. Compare adjective, eject, inject, project, reject, subject, object, trajectory, deject, abject, surjection, bijection, interject. Compare typologically Russian прики́дывать (prikídyvatʹ) (akin to кида́ть (kidátʹ)).
- A statement or an idea which is unproven, but is thought to be true; a guess.
“I explained it, but it is pure conjecture whether he understood, or not.”
- A supposition based upon incomplete evidence; a hypothesis.
“The physicist used his conjecture about subatomic particles to design an experiment.”
- A statement likely to be true based on available evidence, but which has not been formally proven.
- Interpretation of signs and omens.
verb
Etymology: From Old French, from Latin coniectūra (“a guess”), from coniectus, perfect passive participle of cōniciō (“throw or cast together; guess”), from con- (“together”) + iaciō (“throw, hurl”); see jet. Compare adjective, eject, inject, project, reject, subject, object, trajectory, deject, abject, surjection, bijection, interject. Compare typologically Russian прики́дывать (prikídyvatʹ) (akin to кида́ть (kidátʹ)).
- To guess; to venture an unproven idea.
“I do not know if it is true; I am simply conjecturing here.”
“What could have been done by such a machine downhill can only be conjectured, for the maximum speed was restricted rigidly to 80 m.p.h.”
- To infer on slight evidence; to guess at.
“February 22, 1685, Robert South, All Contingences under the Direction of God's Providence (sermon preached at Westminster Abbey)”
“"Most likely he who is the shorter of the two;—no! he goes in the first, and is, of course, the eldest; but we have no time for conjecturing now." Human reason can then, at the best, but conjecture what will be.”