conjecture

Universal Words noun, verb noun (formal) 1 [C] an opinion or idea that is not based on definite knowledge and is formed by guessing SYNGUESS: The truth of his conjecture was confirmed by the newspaper report. 2 [U] the forming of an opinion or idea that is not based on definite knowledge SYNGUESS: What was going through the killer's mind is a matter for conjecture. conjectural adjective: Some of the stages of the Earth's development are purely conjectural. verb (formal) to form an opinion about sth even though you do not have much information on it SYNGUESS [V] We can only conjecture about what was in the killer's mind. * [Vthat] He conjectured that the population might double in ten years. * [VN] She conjectured the existence of a completely new species. [also Vwh-, VNtoinf]