How to use surmise in a sentence

20 example sentences · noun, verb

Surmise means thought, imagination, or conjecture, which may be based upon feeble or scanty evidence; suspicion; guess. Example: “This opinion, however, is merely a surmise, which may or may not be the case.”

Examples of surmise by meaning

nounThought, imagination, or conjecture, which may be based upon feeble or scanty evidence; suspicion; guess.

surmises of jealousy or of envy
This opinion, however, is merely a surmise, which may or may not be the case.
No word had been said to give me anything to think about, and any surmises I might make were unwarranted.1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, chapter 32, in The Moon and Sixpence: A Novel (Heinemann's Colonial Library of Popular Fiction), London...

verbTo imagine or suspect; to conjecture; to posit with contestable premises.

If, as I surmise, you see the ladies this evening, you might mention my intended visit.

More sentences with surmise

From their quizzical looks she surmised she was way off-beam.From the entry off-beam
Cooper said, though he surmised that the arrangements could have been prepared by Handel’s students.2021 March 19, Anthony Tommasini, “Kenneth Cooper, Harpsichordist With Improviser’s Gift, Dies at 79”, in The New York Times, archived…. From the entry harpsichordist
Indeed, one may surmise that they learned to see a specimen precisely by drawing it.1993, Bruce Horn, Richard Kay, Dean Abel, “Photographing Mushrooms”, in A Guide to Kansas Mushrooms, illustrated edition, University Press…. From the entry mycography
This Pantagruelian feast, the doctor surmised, was a reflection of the frustration M.1968, John G[rant] Fuller, chapter 6, in The Day of St. Anthony’s Fire, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, page 109. From the entry pantagruelian
Surmising that something might be wrong, he told us to stop pulling the rope.1911 October 21, “The Boy who Broke the Liberty Bell”, in Literary Digest, volume 43, number 17 (whole number 1122), New York: Funk &…. From the entry steeplekeeper
Everyone surmised that the issue was really in my back.2014, Mark Herzlich, What It Takes: Fighting For My Life and My Love of the Game, New York, NY: New American Library, →ISBN, page 74. From the entry MRI
Aitkenhead surmises sceptically that her friend's son, enrolled on a photography degree, "will almost certainly not" get the job he wants.2009 February 5, Rick Trainor, “Universities are not guilty of deluding students and employers”, in The Guardian. From the entry sceptically
I surmise that pond originally meant a deep water.2005, Reinhold Aman, Maledicta - Volume 1, Issue 2, page 192. From the entry woodway
Trump surmised: Yes, we might have our internal squabbles, but I am bringing tough love because we are all in this together.2026 January 21, David Smith, “Trump paints himself as great white hope in racism-drenched Davos speech”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived…. From the entry tough love
The military intelligence confidently surmises that their ethnic origin is either from the skylands in the clouds of Jupiter or from Uranus.2022, Yoda Oraiah, Cosmism: A New Hope for Humanity, FriesenPress, →ISBN, page 198. From the entry skyland
The player quickly surmised that things weren't kosher and the suddenly wiser ballplayer threatened the world record for the fifty-yard dash as he sought safety.2000, Lew Freedman, Diamonds in the Rough: Baseball Stories from Alaska, page 69. From the entry threaten
"Now gather, and surmise," said Polonius.1934, James Agate, First Nights, page 26. From the entry hot-making
The reader will have to do his own gathering and surmising in connection with this, to use the current phrase, hot-making play.1934, James Agate, First Nights, page 26. From the entry hot-making
What right had they to expect serious men of science to suspend their labours in order to waste time in examining their wild surmises?1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html)…. From the entry self-evident
Andy was especial inroaded by self-esteem at our success, the rudiments of the scheme having originated in his own surmises and premonitions.1908, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “The Octopus Marooned”, in The Gentle Grafter, New York, N.Y.: The McClure Company…. From the entry inroad
A variety of such locations can be surmised, such as spending time at home or other locations not in the officer's area of responsibility while on duty.2015, Steven V. Gilbert, Barbara A. Gilbert, Police Corruption in the NYPD: From Knapp to Mollen, Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press, →ISBN…. From the entry coop

Meaning of surmise

noun Thought, imagination, or conjecture, which may be based upon feeble or scanty evidence; suspicion; guess.
noun Reflection; thought; posit.
verb To imagine or suspect; to conjecture; to posit with contestable premises.

Full definition of surmise

Questions about surmise in a sentence

How do you use surmise in a sentence?: Surmise is used as a noun and verb. For example: “This opinion, however, is merely a surmise, which may or may not be the case.”
What is a short sentence with surmise?: “"Now gather, and surmise," said Polonius.”
What does surmise mean?: Surmise means thought, imagination, or conjecture, which may be based upon feeble or scanty evidence; suspicion; guess.

Adapted from Wiktionary: surmise (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use surmise in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/surmise. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.