The word "surmise" is spelled as /sərˈmaɪz/ in IPA phonetic transcription. The initial "s" is pronounced with the voiceless alveolar sibilant sound, while the following "u" is pronounced with the short vowel sound /ə/. The letter "r" is pronounced with a tapped or trilled sound depending on the speaker's accent. The next syllable "mi" is pronounced with the phoneme /aɪ/ which represents the long vowel sound. Finally, the letter "s" is pronounced with the voiceless alveolar sibilant sound. The word means to infer or to guess based on incomplete information.
Surmise is a verb that refers to the act of forming an opinion or making a judgement based on limited evidence or without definite proof. It is a cognitive process in which one infers a conclusion or assumption, often based on intuition, speculation, or guesswork.
When someone engages in surmising, they are making an educated guess or conjecture about something that is not explicitly known. It involves using reasoning and logic to reach a plausible or likely explanation or interpretation. Surmising can be influenced by personal experiences, prior knowledge, assumptions, or even biases.
The process of surmising often occurs when there is insufficient information available to draw definitive conclusions. It is a way for individuals to fill in the gaps or make sense of unknown or uncertain situations. However, it is important to note that surmises are not factual or certain, as they are based on incomplete or speculative information.
Surmise can also be used as a noun, referring to the inference or idea formed through the process of surmising. In this context, it represents the conclusion or assumption reached after considering the available evidence or clues.
In summary, surmise involves forming an opinion or making a judgement based on incomplete or limited evidence, often using intuition or guesswork. It is a way to fill in the gaps of knowledge or reach plausible explanations in uncertain situations.
• To imagine without certain knowledge; to suspect; to form a notion or opinion on slight evidence, or from some trivial circumstance.
• The notion or opinion that something exists of which we have no certain evidence; a conjecture; a supposition.
Etymological and pronouncing dictionary of the English language. By Stormonth, James, Phelp, P. H. Published 1874.
* The statistics data for these misspellings percentages are collected from over 15,411,110 spell check sessions on www.spellchecker.net from Jan 2010 - Jun 2012.
The word surmise has its origin in Middle English and Old French. It can be traced back to the Latin word supermittere, which is a combination of super meaning over or above and mittere meaning to send. In Old French, it was spelled as surmettre, which meant to suggest or to accuse. Eventually, in Middle English, it evolved into surmise with the meaning of to infer without certain knowledge.