Speculative - English meaning

adjective

Existing in thought or as an idea but not having a physical or concrete existence.

Usage examples:

Abstract concepts such as love or beauty

verb

Consider something theoretically or separately from (something else).

Usage examples:

To abstract science and religion from their historical context can lead to anachronism

noun

A summary of the contents of a book, article, or speech.

Usage examples:

An abstract of her speech

adjective

Relating to education and scholarship.

Usage examples:

Academic achievement

noun

A teacher or scholar in a university or other institute of higher education.

Usage examples:

The eu offers grants to academics for research on approved projects

adjective

Relating to schools, esp. colleges and universities, or connected with studying and thinking and not with useful skills

Usage examples:

Which diamond ring you like more is purely academic, because i can’t afford either one.

adjective

Involving risks and uncertainty.

Usage examples:

Football coaching is a chancy business

adjective

Involving risk

Usage examples:

The show’s financing was chancy, and that made us all nervous.

adjective

Based on or involving conjecture.

Usage examples:

The evidence was deemed too conjectural

adjective

Based on how something seems and not on proof

Usage examples:

He uses the words "guess" and "suppose" frequently, showing that the whole argument is purely conje…

adjective

Unpredictable and potentially dangerous.

Usage examples:

Food supplies have been dicey in recent months

adjective

Not certain or safe; risky

Usage examples:

Things are going to be a bit dicey until we know whether the budget was approved.

adjective

Dishonest or unreliable.

Usage examples:

A dodgy second-hand car salesman

adjective

Not based on any good reason.

Usage examples:

Your fears are quite groundless

adjective

Without a reason, cause, or argument

Usage examples:

Your concerns are groundless.

adjective

Risky; dangerous.

Usage examples:

We work in hazardous conditions

adjective

Dangerous and involving risk, especially to someone's health

Usage examples:

Hazardous industries/materials/substances

adjective

Based on or serving as a hypothesis.

Usage examples:

Let us take a hypothetical case

noun

A hypothetical proposition or statement.

Usage examples:

Officials refuse to discuss military policy except in coy hypotheticals

adjective

Of or based on a hypothesis

Usage examples:

He dismissed the questions as purely hypothetical., any electronic voting system is hypothetically …

adjective

Relating to the formation of ideas or concepts.

Usage examples:

Policy has been shaped by both material and ideational factors

adjective

Relating to or involving the activity of forming ideas in the mind

Usage examples:

This branch of linguistics distinguishes between the ideational, interpersonal, and textual functio…

adjective

Full of uncertainty; doubtful.

Usage examples:

The prospect for classes resuming next wednesday seems iffy

adjective

Existing as or based on a suggestion, estimate, or theory; not existing in reality.

Usage examples:

Notional budgets for hospital and community health services

adjective

Existing only as an idea, or as an approximate amount

Usage examples:

Diamonds only retain their notional value through strict control of the market., almost everyone wi…

adjective

Generally considered or reputed to be.

Usage examples:

The putative author of the book

adjective

Generally thought to be or to exist, even if this may not really be true

Usage examples:

The putative leader of the terrorist cell was arrested yesterday.

adjective

Full of the possibility of danger, failure, or loss.

Usage examples:

It was much too risky to try to disarm him

adjective

Involving the possibility that something bad might happen or that something will fail or lose money

Usage examples:

Even over the long run, stocks are risky., a risky asset/investment, the travel sector is risky for…

adjective

Not certain or fixed; provisional.

Usage examples:

A tentative conclusion

adjective

Not certain or confident

Usage examples:

We have tentative plans to go to hawaii in february., we have tentatively agreed to buy that house.

adjective

Not certain or agreed

Usage examples:

The car company and the union reached a tentative agreement., a tentative deal/plan/settlement, the…

adjective

Concerned with or involving the theory of a subject or area of study rather than its practical application.

Usage examples:

A theoretical physicist

adjective

Based on theory or on possibilities

Usage examples:

The president does not want to answer any theoretical questions.

adjective

Based on ideas or theories, rather than practical uses of something or actual events

Usage examples:

Theoretical economics/physics, theoretical models/analyses/approaches, a theoretical framework/foun…

adjective

Not able to be relied on; not known or definite.

Usage examples:

An uncertain future

adjective

Unclear, or not sure

Usage examples:

She faces an uncertain future., we’re uncertain of the cause of death., [ u ] they live in uncertai…

adjective

Having no foundation or basis in fact.

Usage examples:

Her fear that she had cancer was unfounded

adjective

(of a claim or piece of news) not based on fact; untrue

Usage examples:

Unfounded rumors

adjective

If a claim or piece of news is unfounded, it is not based on fact

Usage examples:

Our fears about the weather proved totally unfounded.

adjective

Not able to be predicted; changeable.

Usage examples:

The unpredictable weather of the scottish islands

adjective

Tending to change suddenly and without reason or warning, and therefore not able to be depended on

Usage examples:

Unpredictable weather, the world is pretty unpredictable.

adjective

If something is unpredictable, it is likely to change suddenly and unexpectedly, so cannot be planned for

Usage examples:

To protect it from the unpredictable nature of software sales, the company has adopted a new busine…

adjective

Not demonstrated by evidence or argument to be true or existing.

Usage examples:

Long-standing but unproven allegations

adjective

Not having been shown to be good enough or to be able to do something

Usage examples:

It would be unwise to throw billions at unproven technology., a group of talented but unproven youn…

adjective

Not safe; dangerous.

Usage examples:

Drinking water in some areas may be unsafe

adjective

Dangerous, or at risk

Usage examples:

The bridge is closed because it’s unsafe., carol feels unsafe in planes.

adjective

Not supported or proven by evidence.

Usage examples:

Unsubstantiated claims

adjective

Not supported by facts

Usage examples:

Companies can be punished for making unsubstantiated claims about their products.

adjective

(of an idea, product, or person) not subjected to examination, experiment, or experience; unproven.

Usage examples:

Analyses based on dubious and untested assumptions

adjective

An untested idea or policy has not yet been used and so there is no proof that it is true or effective

Usage examples:

Initially, they were dismissed as being dreamers with lots of trendy, untested ideas., some laws ar…