TextRanch

The best way to perfect your writing.

Discover why 1,062,726 users count on TextRanch to get their English corrected!

1. Input your text below.
2. Get it corrected in a few minutes by our editors.
3. Improve your English!

One of our experts will correct your English.

speculate vs guess

Both 'speculate' and 'guess' are correct, but they are used in different contexts. 'Speculate' is more formal and implies making an educated guess based on evidence or reasoning, while 'guess' is more casual and implies a less informed or reasoned assumption.

Last updated: March 20, 2024 • 1529 views

speculate

The word 'speculate' is correct and commonly used in English, especially in formal contexts.

Use 'speculate' when you want to suggest a possible explanation or theory based on limited evidence or reasoning. It is often used in more formal settings.

Examples:

Experts speculate that the economy will improve next year.
She speculated on the reasons behind his sudden departure.

Show examples from the web [+]

You don't need to walk to speculate currencies.
It is useless to speculate On what might have been, abigail.
We can only speculate that they may be trying to sell secrets to our enemies.
Feel free to speculate amongst yourselves.
It's impossible for me to speculate on Rebecca's life.
Some speculate that it was a printers error.
I'm not asking you to speculate at all.
Some speculate that life may have taken a tenuous hold but then disaster.
Some speculate that early oceans and even life may have evolved.
As Captain Connolly killed himself yesterday, sadly we can only speculate.
Don't speculate on who the client is.
You cannot speculate about this incident.
You have to speculate, theorize, hypothesize.
Whatever it is, we can't just stand here and speculate.
We can speculate on why, Duck.
I will not speculate on that.
Enough to know that I can't speculate on the images with a patient.
We've been hired to find a would-be killer, not speculate on accidents.
You know how the public love to speculate on my love life.

Alternatives:

theorize
conjecture
postulate
hypothesize
presume

guess

The word 'guess' is correct and commonly used in English, especially in informal contexts.

Use 'guess' when you want to make an estimate or assumption without much evidence or reasoning. It is more casual and less formal than 'speculate'.

Examples:

I can only guess what he meant by that.
She guessed the answer to the riddle.

Show examples from the web [+]

Three chances to guess where he went.
Or carnival people who guess their weight.
Very little entertains you, so I can easily guess.
You can guess, some of them are already back.
Jerry, guess who just called.
And guess who became a real-estate agent.
Surprise - guess who decorated your locker.
Let me guess... got 12 steps attached to it.
It was just a wild guess.
Let me guess, the rarer they are...
And guess whose van was spotted outside his shop right about when he died.
Let me guess, bounty hunter?
Let me guess... you two are still stuck together.
Let me guess, one was found burned...
And guess other things about love.
And guess who worksfor the nsa?
Let me guess - you told everyone eric's just visiting grandpain rhode island.
You needn't divulge anything I can't guess.
And guess who wasn't anywhere near lindsay's table.
But after the earthquake, let me guess...

Alternatives:

estimate
predict
surmise
infer
suppose

Related Comparisons

What Our Customers Are Saying

Our customers love us! We have an average rating of 4.79 stars based on 283,125 votes.
Also check out our 2,100+ reviews on TrustPilot (4.9).

"Thank you!"
Sachi Nakama July 2024
"I have literally been through chat, PI, claude, bard and bing and I got conflicting answers! Thank you! Human intelligence reigns!"
Retha July 2024
"Faster than AI"
CYNTHIA December 2023
"This was very helpful and I personally think this site is the best."
Kaden October 2023
"It was extremely thorough and very helpful!"
imperialelisa October 2023
"7 years without any disappointment. Always 100% satisfied. You guys are the best in the world at what you do. Thank you so much :)"
Zubair Alam October 2023
"In a world of text messages and online communication, this is great to have as a live tool. Thank you."
Selena October 2023
"Without textranch I would be stuck!"
宏祐 October 2023
"Accuracy and fast response. Personal comments from editor. Thank you."
Clh September 2023
"I wasn't aware of this service, it's fascinating and more reliable than standard IA tools available on the internet"
Arturo September 2023
"The fact that you can get reliable fast feedback on your texts."
Vinicius Antonio August 2023
"you guys are better than grammarly i'm being honest here"
ordinary July 2023
"OMG! This is really good than any other text correction tools I've used so far. Highly recommend this."
Vehan July 2023
"Very fast and accurate. thank you."
mojtaba July 2023
"I love this app because it's help to writing skills all of students ♥️"
Tarisini July 2023
"This was exactly the mistake I was looking for, the wording dind´t sound right at first. Better than grammarly!"
Ente July 2023
"The immediate help that I received was reassuring and very satisfactory. Thanks."
priiiyanshuu July 2023
"this helps A LOT for my studies."
kathnunez02 June 2023
"Woow!! I would never have expected such precision! Thank you soooo much!!"
Berta June 2023
"Real Time Editor and not AI. Many Thanks."
Priya June 2023
"The very first thing excites me about Textranch is how much your editors care."
sepideh June 2023
"The fact that texts are checked by human editors rather than by AI, etc. I appreciate this!"
Анна June 2023
"Feel welcome, immediate response, high quality feedback"
martin.roy June 2023
"This is the best app that I have ever seen"
Burulai May 2023

Why choose TextRanch?

Lowest prices
Up to 50% lower than other online editing sites.

Fastest Times
Our team of editors is working for you 24/7.

Qualified Editors
Native English experts for UK or US English.

Top Customer Service
We are here to help. Satisfaction guaranteed!