surmise

[ser-mahyz, ser-mahyz, sur-mahyz]

verb (used with object)

surmised, surmising 

1. to think or infer without certain or strong evidence; conjecture; guess.

   Synonyms: suspect, suppose, imagine

verb (used without object)

surmised, surmising 

1. to conjecture or guess.

noun

1. a matter of conjecture.

2. an idea or thought of something as being possible or likely.

3. a conjecture or opinion.

surmise

verb

1. (when tr, may take a clause as object) to infer (something) from incomplete or uncertain evidence

noun

1. an idea inferred from inconclusive evidence

Other Word Forms

• surmisable adjective
• surmiser noun
• surmisedly adverb
• unsurmised adjective
• unsurmising adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of surmise¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English surmisen, from Anglo-French surmis(e), Middle French “accused,” past participle of surmettre “to accuse,” from Latin supermittere “to throw upon,” from super super- + mittere “to let go, send”

Word History and Origins

Origin of surmise¹

C15: from Old French, from surmettre to accuse, from Latin supermittere to throw over, from _super- + mittere to send

Synonym Study

See guess.

Example Sentences

From what we can surmise, the baby is a device to showcase the nobility of the show’s male characters or lack thereof.

From Salon

"It was an interesting childhood," Terry surmises, with a chuckle.

From BBC

From the time the men were told they would be deported on Monday evening to the time the plane took off was about 17 hours, the judge surmised, “obviously insufficient.”

From Los Angeles Times

All the while, he’s surmising what he might gain by rifling through his associates’ drawers and desks.

From Salon

Depending on how everything shakes out, Eddy surmises stars could be reintroduced to the Pacific within three to five years.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• deduce 
• hypothesize 
• infer 
• opine 
• presume 
• pretend 
• speculate 
• theorize