the discipline that studies the principles of transmiting information and the methods by which it is delivered (as print or radio or television etc.); "communications is his major field of study"
a set of techniques for exploring underlying motives and a method of treating various mental disorders; based on the theories of Sigmund Freud; "his physician recommended psychoanalysis"
(biology) the field of science concerned with processes of communication and control (especially the comparison of these processes in biological and artificial systems)
the branch of quantum physics that accounts for matter at the atomic level; an extension of statistical mechanics based on quantum theory (especially the Pauli exclusion principle)
a statement that makes something comprehensible by describing the relevant structure or operation or circumstances etc.; "the explanation was very simple"; "I expected a brief account"
the act of explaining; making something plain or intelligible; "I heard his explanation of the accident"
to believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds; "Scientists supposed that large dinosaurs lived in swamps"
talk over conjecturally, or review in an idle or casual way and with an element of doubt or without sufficient reason to reach a conclusion; "We were speculating whether the President had to resign after the scandal"
invest at a risk; "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"
a hypothesis that has been formed by speculating or conjecturing (usually with little hard evidence); "speculations about the outcome of the election"; "he dismissed it as mere conjecture"
an investment that is very risky but could yield great profits; "he knew the stock was a speculation when he bought it"
(law) an explanation of the fundamental reasons (especially an explanation of the working of some device in terms of laws of nature); "the rationale for capital punishment"; "the principles of internal-combustion engines"