surmising
present participle ofsurmise
surmise
verb[T]
formaluk/səˈmaɪz/us/sɚˈmaɪz/toguesssomething, without having much or anyproof:
[+ (that)]Thepolicesurmise(that)therobbershavefledthecountry.
Synonyms
conjectureformal
hypothesizeformal
speculate(GUESS)
theorize
to guess
- guessGuess who called yesterday?
- estimateThey estimate that the work will take at least ten weeks.
- divineMum had divined my state of mind rather shrewdly.
- surmiseFrom the expression on his face, she surmised that something bad had happened.
- conjectureIt would be reasonable to conjecture that lack of exercise contributed to his obesity.
- speculateA spokesperson declined to speculate on the cause of the plane crash.
Guessing, supposing and suspecting
- approximate
- as muchidiom
- call
- conjecture
- consider
- deem
- fall
- hypothesize
- jump
- jump to conclusionsidiom
- mark
- marksomeonedown assomething
- misjudge
- misjudgment
- presume
- smell
- speculate
- surmise
- think
- think ofsomething
Examplesofsurmising
surmising
In English, many past and present participles of verbs can be used as adjectives. Some of these examples may show the adjective use.
I have my own view as to how much he wassurmisingand how much he was reporting.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
He wassurmisingwhat might happen if discussions between the local authority associations broke down.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
He is right insurmisingthat spring will be a little late this year.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
We were allsurmisingwhat line the lecturer would be taking, and we found that the greatest room in the world was the room for improvement.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
To speed up the process, they resort to blasting the cliffs,surmisingthat the mysterious blue material will not be damaged by the explosions.
From
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.During the past century, scholars have often questioned this,surmisingthat this may have been a rumor circulated by his detractors.
FromThis example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.Drake also discusses how taxes detract from his overall earnings; however, he comforts himself bysurmisingthat you lose some, you win some.
FromThis example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.Adler finished bysurmisingthat an only child loves being the center of attention and matures quickly but in the end fails to become independent.
FromThis example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.She keeps looking down,surmisingthe situation.
FromThis example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.Brownlee declined,surmisingthat many of the newly elected farmer-politicians would have seen an urban lawyer in the premier's office as a repudiation of much of what they stood for.
FromThis example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.