speculative

adjective

spec·​u·​la·​tive ˈspe-kyə-lə-tiv 

-ˌlā-

1

: involving, based on, or constituting intellectual speculation

also : theoretical rather than demonstrable

speculative knowledge

2

: marked by questioning curiosity

gave him a speculative glance

3

: of, relating to, or being a financial speculation

speculative stocks

speculative venture

speculatively adverb

Synonyms

• academic
• academical
• conjectural
• hypothetical
• suppositional
• theoretical
• theoretic

Examples of speculative in a Sentence

His conclusions are highly speculative.

a writer with a speculative mind

a speculative boom in housing construction

Recent Examples on the Web

Proxima Kosmos launched Saturday featuring a sweeping interactive digital platform, films and a limited-run zine that expands the speculative universe through essays, art and storytelling. —Leslie Katz, Forbes, 6 Mar. 2025

Almost overnight, the desire for speculative script samples of existing shows vanished, replaced by the demand for original pilot samples. —Alex Levy, IndieWire, 4 Mar. 2025

Eswar Prasad, a professor of trade policy at Cornell University who wrote the book The Future of Money about digital currencies, said the U.S. has a precedent for holding a stockpile of a speculative asset: gold. —Juliana Kim, NPR, 4 Mar. 2025

Some commentators don’t like the idea of potentially using taxpayer funds to backstop the price of crypto, a speculative digital asset with limited (some would say nonexistent) underlying value. —Allison Morrow, CNN, 4 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing speculative

• anti-speculative

Kids Definition

speculative

adjective

spec·​u·​la·​tive ˈspek-yə-lət-iv 

-ˌlāt-

1

a

: of or relating to mental speculation

speculative knowledge

b

: curious sense 1

a speculative glance

2

: of or relating to financial speculation

speculatively adverb

Legal Definition

speculative

adjective

spec·​u·​la·​tive ˈspe-kyə-lə-tiv, -ˌlā- 

1

: involving, based on, or constituting intellectual speculation

also : theoretical rather than demonstrable

speculative medical testimony concerning the cause of death

2

: of, relating to, or being a financial speculation

speculative securities

speculative home building

speculatively adverb