speculative

  • 1speculative — spec·u·la·tive / spe kyə lə tiv, ˌlā / adj 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… …

    Law dictionary

  • 2Speculative — Spec u*la*tive (sp[e^]k [ u]*l[.a]*t[i^]v), a. [Cf. F. sp[ e]culatif, L. speculativus.] 1. Given to speculation; contemplative. [1913 Webster] The mind of man being by nature speculative. Hooker. [1913 Webster] 2. Involving, or formed by,… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 3Speculative — may refer to: *For economics usage, see Speculation *For usage in literature, see Speculative fiction *For philosophical usage, see Speculative philosophy and Speculative reason …

    Wikipedia

  • 4speculative — Speculative. s. f. Theorie. Speculation. Cela est bon dans la speculative, & non pas dans la pratique …

    Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • 5speculative — (adj.) late 14c., from O.Fr. speculatif or directly from L.L. speculativus, from pp. stem of speculari (see SPECULATION (Cf. speculation)). Related: Speculatively …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 6speculative — 1 contemplative, meditative, *thoughtful, reflective, pensive Analogous words: conjecturing or conjectural, surmising, guessing (see corresponding verbs at CONJECTURE): pondering, musing, ruminating (see PONDER) 2 *theoretical, academic …

    New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • 7speculative — [adj] theoretical abstract, analytical, assumed, conceptive, dangerous, dicey, experimental, formularized, hairy, hazardous, hypothetical, ideal, idealized, ideological, iffy, intellectual, in theory, logical, notional, philosophical, presumed,… …

    New thesaurus

  • 8speculative — ► ADJECTIVE 1) engaged in or based on conjecture rather than knowledge. 2) (of an investment) involving a high risk of loss. DERIVATIVES speculatively adverb speculativeness noun …

    English terms dictionary

  • 9speculative — [spek′yə lāt΄iv, spek′yələ tiv] adj. [ME speculatif < MFr < LL speculativus] 1. of, characterized by, or having the nature of, speculation or meditation, conjecture, etc. 2. theoretical, not practical 3. of or characterized by financial… …

    English World dictionary

  • 10speculative — securities that involve a high level of risk. Bloomberg Financial Dictionary * * * speculative spec‧u‧la‧tive [ˈspekjlətɪv ǁ leɪ ] adjective 1. FINANCE bought or done in the hope of making a profit: • Their £461 million bid for the electronics… …

    Financial and business terms