Conjecture
/kənˈdʒektʃər/
Definitions
2 meaningsAn opinion or conclusion based on incomplete information; a guess.
/kənˈdʒektʃər/
An opinion or conclusion formed on the basis of incomplete information.
The archaeologist's conjecture about the purpose of the ancient artifact was widely debated.
💡 Simply: Imagine you're trying to solve a mystery, but you only have some clues. A conjecture is your best guess about what happened, even though you don't have all the answers yet. It's like making a prediction before the game.
👶 For kids: A guess that you make when you don't know for sure, like guessing what's in a box.
More Examples
Based on the evidence, the detective made a conjecture about the suspect's motives.
The teacher encouraged the students to form their own conjectures before reading the text.
How It's Used
"The scientist's conjecture about the origin of the universe was based on theoretical models."
"Historians offer various conjectures about the motivations of historical figures."
To form an opinion or make a guess based on incomplete information.
/kənˈdʒektʃər/
To form an opinion or supposition about something on the basis of incomplete information.
The historians conjectured that the city was destroyed by an earthquake.
💡 Simply: To guess or make an educated guess about something when you don't have all the facts. It's like putting the pieces of a puzzle together without seeing the full picture.
👶 For kids: To guess about something that you don't know for sure.
More Examples
The detectives began to conjecture about the victim's last moments.
We can only conjecture what the future holds.
How It's Used
"Critics often conjecture about the author's intentions in writing a novel."
"The jury had to conjecture about the defendant's actions based on circumstantial evidence."
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
From Latin *coniēc(t)-* 'thrown together' (past participle stem of *coniicere* 'to throw together, guess'), from *con-* 'together' + *iacere* 'to throw'.
Used extensively in philosophical and scientific writing, especially from the 17th century onward, often to describe tentative explanations or hypotheses.
Memory tip
Think of a 'project' that's not fully 'conject'ed – it's just a starting point based on educated guesses.
Word Origin
"to throw together, guess"