speculative

adj

Etymology: Inherited from Middle English speculatyf, borrowed from Old French speculatif or directly from Late Latin speculativus, from Latin speculor.

1. Characterized by speculation; based on guessing, unfounded opinions, or extrapolation.

   “Like The Handmaid's Tale, Oryx and Crake is a speculative fiction, not a science fiction proper.”

   “When not inaccurate, much commentary on the contents of Hobson-Jobson is couched in hedges or relies on speculative estimates in the absence of exact information.”

2. Pursued as a gamble, with possible large profits or losses; risky.

   “Tranquillo Barnetta was the grateful beneficiary of uncertain England defending and poor goalkeeping from Joe Hart as he twice saw speculative free-kicks end in the back of the net in the first half.”

   “Little seemed on when Sánchez cut in from the left and sent a speculative low shot through a crowd of players, but though Federici had it covered he could not hold on to the ball and it squirmed over the line through his legs.”

3. Pertaining to financial speculation; Involving or resulting from high-risk investments or trade.

   “"Don't dare laugh at us!" smiled his sister. "I wish we were back in Tenth Street. But so many children came[…]and the Tenth Street house wasn't half big enough; and a dreadful speculative builder built this house and persuaded Austin to buy it. Oh, dear, and here we are among the rich and great; and the steel kings and copper kings and oil kings and their heirs and dauphins. Do you like the house?"”

   “In other words, it is critical to know whether a currency is under high speculative pressure for every month in the sample.”