Word
surmise
Phoneticssur·mise, stress on the second syllable
/sɝˈmaɪz/
Definition
v. to guess that something is true without having full proof. You use it when you make a careful guess from the clues you have.
v. to infer or suppose something to be true on the basis of incomplete evidence.
Examples
“I surmise he is stuck in traffic.”
“From the dark windows and full mailbox, she surmised the family was away on holiday.”
“Reading the hurried handwriting and unsent letters, historians surmised that the diplomat had anticipated the breakdown of talks weeks earlier.”
Examples
simple
“I surmise he is stuck in traffic.”
contextual
“From the dark windows and full mailbox, she surmised the family was away on holiday.”
complex
“Reading the hurried handwriting and unsent letters, historians surmised that the diplomat had anticipated the breakdown of talks weeks earlier.”
Collocations
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “surmise” in context.
Verb
01. surmise from appearance
“The doctor surmised from appearance that the patient had been under severe stress.”
verb + prep + noun
02. surmise from evidence
“Police surmised from evidence that the break-in had occurred after midnight.”
verb + prep + noun
Adjective
03. correctly surmise
“From the muddy boots by the door, she correctly surmised they had returned from the hike.”
adv + verb
04. reasonably surmise
“From the cancelled flights, passengers could reasonably surmise a storm was approaching.”
adv + verb
05. safely surmise
“From his silence in the meeting, we could safely surmise he disagreed with the plan.”
adv + verb
Noun
06. surmise cause
“Engineers surmised the cause of the failure without dismantling the engine.”
verb + noun
07. surmise intent
“Historians surmised his intent from letters he wrote to his brother.”
verb + noun
08. surmise outcome
“Analysts surmised the outcome of the election long before the final count.”
verb + noun
09. correctly surmise the outcome
“The strategist correctly surmised the outcome of the negotiations.”
10. one can only surmise
“With no witnesses left, one can only surmise what truly occurred that night.”
11. reasonably surmise what happened
“Given the broken window and missing laptop, police could reasonably surmise what happened.”
12. safely surmise that
“From the empty streets, we could safely surmise that the curfew had begun.”
Usage
The verb is transitive and often takes a 'that'-clause or noun-phrase object.
Etymology
From Old French surmis, past participle of surmetre, surmettre (“to accuse”), from sur- (“upon”) + metre (“to put”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.C1 AdvancedIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.7.0–8.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 5.0–5.595–113TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.945–990
- Frequency
- Occasional
- Level
- C1 · Advanced
- Updated
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englishreference.com/q/surmise