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"
the act of giving a formal (usually written) authorization
a legal document giving official permission to do something
freedom to deviate deliberately from normally applicable rules or practices (especially in behavior or speech)
excessive freedom; lack of due restraint; "when liberty becomes license dictatorship is near"- Will Durant; "the intolerable license with which the newspapers break...the rules of decorum"- Edmund Burke
authorize officially; "I am licensed to practice law in this state"
(of persons) freed from or not subject to an obligation or liability (as e.g. taxes) to which others or other things are subject; "a beauty somehow exempt from the aging process"; "exempt from jury duty"; "only the very poorest citizens should be exempt from income taxes"
grant relief or an exemption from a rule or requirement to; "She exempted me from the exam"
a deliberate act of omission; "with the exception of the children, everyone was told the news"
an instance that does not conform to a rule or generalization; "all her children were brilliant; the only exception was her last child"; "an exception tests the rule"
grounds for adverse criticism; "his authority is beyond exception"
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"
a note explaining an absence; "he had to get his mother to write an excuse for him"
a defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc.; "he kept finding excuses to stay"; "every day he had a new alibi for not getting a job"; "his transparent self-justification was unacceptable"
excuse, overlook, or make allowances for; be lenient with; "excuse someone's behavior"; "She condoned her husband's occasional infidelities"
serve as a reason or cause or justification of; "Your need to sleep late does not excuse your late arrival at work"; "Her recent divorce may explain her reluctance to date again"
grant exemption or release to; "Please excuse me from this class"
ask for permission to be released from an engagement
accept an excuse for; "Please excuse my dirty hands"
the doctrine or belief that God is the universe and its phenomena (taken or conceived of as a whole) or the doctrine that regards the universe as a manifestation of God
a right reserved exclusively by a particular person or group (especially a hereditary or official right); "suffrage was the prerogative of white adult males"