conjecture

An idea that someone thinks is true but cannot yet prove.

• That is only conjecture.
• Her conjecture about the missing money proved correct.
• The mathematicians are trying to prove a famous conjecture.

How to use it: conjecture about something (There is plenty of conjecture about why she left.); the conjecture that… (The discovery supports the conjecture that the site was once inhabited.)

Similar words: guess, hypothesis, supposition

Common phrases: pure conjecture, a conjecture, conjecture about something, test a conjecture

To suggest that something may be true without having enough evidence to prove it.

• We can only conjecture about the cause.
• She conjectured that the letter had been lost.
• Historians conjecture that a fire destroyed the settlement.

How to use it: conjecture that… (Researchers conjecture that the building was a temple.); conjecture about something (We can only conjecture about his reasons for leaving.)

Similar words: guess, suppose, speculate

Common phrases: conjecture that something, conjecture about something