From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsurmisesur‧mise /səˈmaɪz $ sər-/ verb [transitive] formalGUESS to guess that something is true, using the information you know alreadysurmise that When she came in, he didn’t look up, so she surmised that he was in a bad mood. —surmise noun [countable, uncountable] Charles was glad to have his surmise confirmed.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
surmise• Not more than a week old, Father Poole surmised.• Probably helping some official move, he surmised as he became absorbed in the activity.• And the first victims were not black, as you might surmise, but white men.• They are one and all friendly, kind and tolerant - largely I surmise by virtue of my wife and her approachability.• Maurice surmised it was from his aunt.• We sat still in the desolate space for several hours before we surmised that evidently we were free to go.• I could only surmise that she and Lila had met before.• One can only surmise that this arrangement was for the programming convenience of the television station which covered the matches.surmise that• We could only surmise that alternative passages must have been worse.• Emma privately surmises that Dixon sent it, Mrs Weston that it is a gift from Knightley.• He surmised that every bird possesses a form of template upon which it tries different notes until it finds the correct ones.• Back in the bedroom, he surmised that he was high.• No one surmised that Pro Bowl candidates would be moving around like so many pieces on a huge chessboard.• I could only surmise that she and Lila had met before.• Because the molds used in making these cheeses have been long used, it is surmised that they are safe.• One can only surmise that this arrangement was for the programming convenience of the television station which covered the matches.Origin surmise (1500-1600) Old French past participle of surmetre “to accuse”, from Latin supermettere “to throw on”, from mittere “to send” 