Synonyms for speculative
- adjective
Most common
wondering curious inquisitive high-risk risky theoretical tentative
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Curious
3. Theoretical
theoretical, notional, theoretic, ideal, supposititious dated
4. Contemplative
Other
tentative, go-go, unpractical rare
Definitions
- adj. 1
Characterized by speculation; based on guessing, unfounded opinions, or extrapolation.
- adj. 2
Pursued as a gamble, with possible large profits or losses; risky.
- adj. 3
Pertaining to financial speculation; Involving or resulting from high-risk investments or trade.
Related words
- Word family
- speculativeness speculate speculation speculativity
- Phrases
- speculative fiction speculative evolution
Example sentences
- wondering The news left me wondering what would happen next.
- curious He is curious about how she will receive the news.
- inquisitive She is inquisitive, but I like her none the worse.
- risky It would probably be risky to do that by yourself.
- theoretical She's studying to become a theoretical physicist.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| speculative | steady | |
| wondering | rising | |
| curious | rising | |
| inquisitive | rising | |
| risky | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 3 letters
- bad1
- 5 letters
- ideal2, risky2
- 7 letters
- curious3
- 8 letters
- notional3
- 9 letters
- wondering3, tentative3, theoretic
- 10 letters
- thoughtful2, meditative4
- 11 letters
- questioning3, theoretical5, inquisitive4, unpractical
- 13 letters
- contemplative4
- 14 letters
- supposititious
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (ideal2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- spéculatif
- Italiano
- speculativo
- Deutsch
- spekulativ