conjecture
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From Latin coniectūra (“a guess”), from coniectus, perfect passive participle of cōniciō (“throw or cast together; guess”), from con- (“together”) + iaciō (“throw, hurl”); see jet. Compare adjective, eject, inject, project, reject, subject, object, trajectory.
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Noun
conjecture (countable and uncountable; plural conjectures)
- (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.
- (formal) A supposition based upon incomplete evidence; a hypothesis.
- The physicist used his conjecture about subatomic particles to design an experiment.
- (mathematics, philology) A statement likely to be true based on available evidence, but which has not been formally proven.
- (obsolete) Interpretation of signs and omens.
[edit] Synonyms
- See also Wikisaurus:supposition
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Translations
unproven statement; guess
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supposition based upon incomplete evidence; a hypothesis
statement likely to be true based on available evidence, but which has not been formally proven
[edit] Verb
conjecture (third-person singular simple present conjectures, present participle conjecturing, simple past and past participle conjectured)
- (formal, intransitive) To guess; to venture an unproven idea.
- I do not know if it is true; I am simply conjecturing here.
[edit] Translations
to guess
[edit] External links
- conjecture in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
- “conjecture” in the Online Etymology Dictionary, Douglas Harper, 2001
- conjecture in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
[edit] French
[edit] Noun
conjecture f. (plural conjectures)
