conjectures
Educated guesses made
Conjectures are conclusions reached without firm evidence—educated guesses or theories based on incomplete information.
Scientists form conjectures before experiments confirm or refute them.
In mathematics, a conjecture is an unproven proposition that appears true: Goldbach's conjecture remains unproven after three centuries.
The verb means to guess or speculate: We can only conjecture what happened.
Unproven inner sense
- intuitionInstinctive immediate understanding
- speculationUnproven theorizing or risky investment
- surmiseGuess from incomplete information
- suppositionBelief without proof
assumption · presumption · guesstimate · estimation · stab · shot · guessing · ballpark
Explanatory set of principles
- thesisAcademic argument requiring defense
- propositionStatement expressing a judgment
- postulateAssumed starting point
- suppositionBelief without proof
premise · assumption · model · framework · hypothesis · hypothesizing · working theory · theoretical model
Conclusion from premises
- inductionFormal admission process
- reasoningDrawing logical conclusions
- extrapolationExtending data beyond bounds
- implicationIndirect suggestion or consequence
conclusion · logic · analysis · interpretation · derivation · corollary · inferring · drawing conclusions
Forming unproven explanations
- speculatingGuessing without certainty
- musingReflective contemplation
- ponderingThinking deeply about something
- supposingConjecture as premise
wondering · imagining · postulating · guessing · forecasting · predicting · projecting · prognosticating
Theory of knowledge
- metaphysicsPhilosophy of existence's nature
- ontologyStudy of existence's nature
- dialecticLogical argument through opposition
- hermeneuticsStudy of interpretation methods
empiricism · rationalism · skepticism · phenomenology · thought experiment · abstract reasoning · first principles · a priori
hunch
Unproven inner sense
- intuitionInstinctive immediate understanding
- speculationUnproven theorizing or risky investment
- surmiseGuess from incomplete information
supposition · assumption · presumption · guesstimate · estimation · stab · shot · guessing · ballpark · approximation
theory
Explanatory set of principles
- thesisAcademic argument requiring defense
- propositionStatement expressing a judgment
- postulateAssumed starting point
supposition · premise · assumption · model · framework · hypothesis · hypothesizing · working theory · theoretical model · null hypothesis
deduction
Conclusion from premises
- inductionFormal admission process
- reasoningDrawing logical conclusions
- extrapolationExtending data beyond bounds
implication · conclusion · logic · analysis · interpretation · derivation · corollary · inferring · drawing conclusions · reading between lines
theorizing
Forming unproven explanations
- speculatingGuessing without certainty
- musingReflective contemplation
- ponderingThinking deeply about something
supposing · wondering · imagining · postulating · guessing · forecasting · predicting · projecting · prognosticating · anticipating
epistemology
Theory of knowledge
- metaphysicsPhilosophy of existence's nature
- ontologyStudy of existence's nature
- dialecticLogical argument through opposition
hermeneutics · empiricism · rationalism · skepticism · phenomenology · thought experiment · abstract reasoning · first principles · a priori
- mathaddition, subtraction, multiplication, division, algebra
- logic termsif, then, valid, premises, and
- philologyphilology, etymology, critical edition, collation, emendation
- textual criticismcritical apparatus, collation, emendation, recension, variant
- thoughtsthought, idea, thoughts, ideas, thinking
- assertionsassertions, asserting, assert, statements, stating
conjecturesfacts
Verifiable pieces of truth
truths · proofs · certainties · hard evidence · givens
conjecturesproves
Establishes truth of
calculates · demonstrates · verifies · deduces · confirms