speculates

1. to believe especially on uncertain or tentative groundsExamples: "Scientists supposed that large dinosaurs lived in swamps"Synonyms: conjecture, hypothecate, hypothesise, hypothesize, speculate, suppose, theorise, theorize

2. talk over conjecturally, or review in an idle or casual way and with an element of doubt or without sufficient reason to reach a conclusionExamples: "We were speculating whether the President had to resign after the scandal"Synonyms: speculate

3. reflect deeply on a subjectExamples: "I mulled over the events of the afternoon"; "philosophers have speculated on the question of God for thousands of years"; "The scientist must stop to observe and start to excogitate"Synonyms: chew over, contemplate, excogitate, meditate, mull, mull over, muse, ponder

4. invest at a riskExamples: "I bought this house not because I want to live in it but to sell it later at a good price, so I am speculating"Synonyms: job, speculate