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

Expect Market Volatility The crypto market is currently in a hyper-sensitive state, with traders reacting sharply to any news—whether factual or speculative. —Alice Liu, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2025

Cramer named a few popular speculative names that saw losses on Thursday, including Palantir, Carvana and Applovin. —Julie Coleman, CNBC, 21 Feb. 2025

Read More: Why The Paranormal And Supernatural Continue To Fascinate Us A Message from Beyond Hough’s work so far has pieced together historical records and theoretical research — admittedly more speculative than empirical. —Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 19 Feb. 2025

In the speculative world from which Amerasu delivers her Instagram missives, the signifiers and pop culture figures of the present day have been put into a bizarre blender, remixed in a way that is absurd but just plausible enough to actually happen. —James Factora, Them, 14 Feb. 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