Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Conjecture

Con-jec′ture

(; 135?)
,
Noun.
[L.
conjectura
, fr.
conjicere
,
conjectum
, to throw together, infer, conjecture;
con-
+
jacere
to throw: cf. F.
conjecturer
. See
Jet
a shooting forth.]
An opinion, or judgment, formed on defective or presumptive evidence; probable inference; surmise; guess; suspicion.
He [Herodotus] would thus have corrected his first loose
conjecture
by a real study of nature.
Whewell.
Conjectures
, fancies, built on nothing firm.
Milton.

Con-jec′ture

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Conjectured
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Conjecturing
.]
[Cf. F.
conjecturer
. Cf.
Conject
.]
To arrive at by conjecture; to infer on slight evidence; to surmise; to guess; to form, at random, opinions concerning.
Human reason can then, at the best, but
conjecture
what will be.
South.

Con-jec′ture

,
Verb.
I.
To make conjectures; to surmise; to guess; to infer; to form an opinion; to imagine.

Webster 1828 Edition


Conjecture

CONJECTURE

,
Noun.
[L., See Conjector.]
1.
Literally, a casting or throwing together of possible or probable events; or a casting of the mind to something future, or something past but unknown; a guess, formed on a supposed possibility or probability of a fact, or on slight evidence; preponderance of opinion without proof; surmise. We speak of future or unknown things by conjecture, and of probable or unfounded conjectures.
2.
Idea; notion.

CONJECTURE

,
Verb.
T.
To guess; to judge by guess, or by the probability or the possibility of a fact, or by very slight evidence; to form an opinion at random. What will be the issue of a war, we may conjecture, but cannot know. He conjectured that some misfortune had happened.

Definition 2024


conjecture

conjecture

See also: conjecturé

English

Noun

conjecture (countable and uncountable, plural conjectures)

  1. (formal) A statement or an idea which is unproven, but is thought to be true; a guess.
    I explained it, but it is pure conjecture whether he understood, or not.
  2. (formal) A supposition based upon incomplete evidence; a hypothesis.
    The physicist used his conjecture about subatomic particles to design an experiment.
  3. (mathematics, philology) A statement likely to be true based on available evidence, but which has not been formally proven.
  4. (obsolete) Interpretation of signs and omens.

Synonyms

  • halseny
  • See also Wikisaurus:supposition

Related terms

Translations

Verb

conjecture (third-person singular simple present conjectures, present participle conjecturing, simple past and past participle conjectured)

  1. (formal, intransitive) To guess; to venture an unproven idea.
    I do not know if it is true; I am simply conjecturing here.
    • South
      Human reason can then, at the best, but conjecture what will be.

Translations

External links

  • conjecture in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
  • conjecture” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary (2001).
  • conjecture in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

French

Noun

conjecture f (plural conjectures)

  1. conjecture

Verb

conjecture

  1. first-person singular present indicative of conjecturer
  2. third-person singular present indicative of conjecturer
  3. first-person singular present subjunctive of conjecturer
  4. third-person singular present subjunctive of conjecturer
  5. second-person singular imperative of conjecturer

Latin

Participle

conjectūre

  1. vocative masculine singular of conjectūrus

Portuguese

Verb

conjecture

  1. first-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of conjecturar
  2. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present subjunctive of conjecturar
  3. third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of conjecturar
  4. third-person singular (você) negative imperative of conjecturar