conjecture

Definitions

con- (together) + ject (throw) + -ure (noun of action) = 'a throwing together.' You gather scattered evidence and throw it together to form a guess. Not random guessing — it's reasoned inference from incomplete data.

Why It Means This

Conjecture sits between a wild guess and a proven fact. The Latin image — tossing clues into the same pile — captures it perfectly. A detective conjectures by throwing together fragments: a footprint, a motive, a timeline. In mathematics, a conjecture is an unproven proposition that evidence suggests is true (Goldbach's conjecture, the Riemann conjecture). The word implies intellectual effort, not carelessness.

Common Collocations

• 1.mere conjecture纯粹猜测
• 2.conjecture that推测……
• 3.a matter of conjecture猜测之事
• 4.pure conjecture纯属推测

Example Sentences

• 1.

  Without evidence, it remains mere conjecture.

• 2.

  Scientists conjectured that the planet might support life.

• 3.

  Goldbach's conjecture has remained unproven for nearly 300 years.

Easily Confused

conjecture vs hypothesis — Both are unproven ideas, but a hypothesis is testable and structured (designed to be confirmed or refuted), while conjecture is less formal — an informed guess that may not yet have a testing method. Scientists form hypotheses; detectives make conjectures.