Speculation vs. Theory — What's the Difference?

Speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable in the near future. In finance, speculation is also the practice of engaging in risky financial transactions in an attempt to profit from short term fluctuations in the market value of a tradable financial instrument—rather than attempting to profit from the underlying financial attributes embodied in the instrument such as value addition, return on investment, or dividends.

A theory is a rational type of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the results of such thinking. The process of contemplative and rational thinking is often associated with such processes as observational study or research.

Reasoning based on inconclusive evidence; conjecture or supposition.

A set of statements or principles devised to explain a group of facts or phenomena, especially one that has been repeatedly tested or is widely accepted and can be used to make predictions about natural phenomena.

A conclusion, opinion, or theory reached by conjecture.

The branch of a science or art consisting of its explanatory statements, accepted principles, and methods of analysis, as opposed to practice

(Archaic) Contemplation or consideration of a subject; meditation.

A set of theorems that constitute a systematic view of a branch of mathematics.

Engagement in risky business transactions on the chance of quick or considerable profit.

Abstract reasoning; speculation

A commercial or financial transaction involving speculation.

A belief or principle that guides action or assists comprehension or judgment

(obsolete) The faculty of sight.

An assumption based on limited information or knowledge; a conjecture.

(obsolete) An act of looking at something; examination, observation.

A description of an event or system that is considered to be accurate.

The process of thinking or meditating on a subject.

(sciences) A coherent statement or set of ideas that explains observed facts or phenomena and correctly predicts new facts or phenomena not previously observed, or which sets out the laws and principles of something known or observed; a hypothesis confirmed by observation, experiment etc.

(philosophy) The act or process of reasoning a priori from premises given or assumed.

(uncountable) The underlying principles or methods of a given technical skill, art etc., as opposed to its practice.

A conclusion to which the mind comes by speculating; mere theory; notion; conjecture.

(mathematics) A field of study attempting to exhaustively describe a particular class of constructs.

An investment involving higher-than-normal risk in order to obtain a higher-than-normal return.

A hypothesis or conjecture.

The act or practice of buying land, goods, shares, etc., in expectation of selling at a higher price, or of selling with the expectation of repurchasing at a lower price; a trading on anticipated fluctuations in price, as distinguished from trading in which the profit expected is the difference between the retail and wholesale prices, or the difference of price in different markets.

A set of axioms together with all statements derivable from them; or, a set of statements which are deductively closed. Equivalently, a formal language plus a set of axioms (from which can then be derived theorems). The statements may be required to all be bound (i.e., to have no free variables).

A card game in which the players buy from one another trumps or whole hands, upon a chance of getting the highest trump dealt, which entitles the holder to the pool of stakes.

A doctrine, or scheme of things, which terminates in speculation or contemplation, without a view to practice; hypothesis; speculation.

(programming) The process of anticipating which branch of code will be chosen and executing it in advance.

An exposition of the general or abstract principles of any science; as, the theory of music.

The act of speculating.

The science, as distinguished from the art; as, the theory and practice of medicine.

Examination by the eye; view.

The philosophical explanation of phenomena, either physical or moral; as, Lavoisier's theory of combustion; Adam Smith's theory of moral sentiments.

A conclusion to which the mind comes by speculating; mere theory; view; notion; conjecture.

A well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena;

Mental view of anything in its various aspects and relations; contemplation; intellectual examination.

A tentative theory about the natural world; a concept that is not yet verified but that if true would explain certain facts or phenomena;

Power of sight.

A belief that can guide behavior;

The act or process of reasoning a priori from premises given or assumed.

A game at cards in which the players buy from one another trumps or whole hands, upon a chance of getting the highest trump dealt, which entitles the holder to the pool of stakes.

The act or practice of buying land, goods, shares, etc., in expectation of selling at a higher price, or of selling with the expectation of repurchasing at a lower price; a trading on anticipated fluctuations in price, as distinguished from trading in which the profit expected is the difference between the retail and wholesale prices, or the difference of price in different markets.

Any business venture in involving unusual risks, with a chance for large profits.

A message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence

A hypothesis that has been formed by speculating or conjecturing (usually with little hard evidence);

An investment that is very risky but could yield great profits;

Continuous and profound contemplation or musing on a subject or series of subjects of a deep or abstruse nature;