Word of the Day: SURMISE

Supposition without support

surmise (verb) - to guess, conjecture, or form an idea without strong or certain evidence; to suppose [ser-mahyz]

BREAKDOWN: SUR- (above) + MIS- (to send)

• surmise also means a guess or speculation

“A detective with his murder mystery, a chemist seeking the structure of a new compound, use little of the formal and logical modes of reasoning. Through a series of intuitions, surmises, fancies, they stumble upon the right explanation, and have a knack of seizing it when it once comes within reach.” —Gilbert N. Lewis