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guess Definition

guess (ges)

transitive verb, intransitive verb

  1. to form a judgment or estimate of (something) without actual knowledge or enough facts for certainty; conjecture; surmise
  2. to judge correctly by doing this
  3. to think or suppose I guess I can do it

Etymology: ME gessen, to judge, estimate, prob. < MDu, akin to Dan gisse, Swed gissa, ON geta: for IE base see get

noun

  1. the act of guessing
  2. a judgment or estimate formed by guessing; conjecture; surmise

guess Related Forms

guess′·able adjective guess′er noun

guess Synonyms

guess

n.

conjecture, surmise, supposition, theory, hypothesis, presupposition, presumption, opinion, postulate, estimate, divination, association of ideas, surmisal, suspicion, thesis, guesswork, view, belief, assumption, speculation, supposal, postulation, fancy, inference, conclusion, deduction, induction, guesstimate*, shot in the dark*.

guess implies the forming of a judgment or estimate (often a correct one) without sufficient knowledge for certainty he guessed the number of beans in the jar; to conjecture is to infer or predict from incomplete or uncertain evidence I cannot conjecture what his plans are; surmise implies a conjecturing through mere intuition or imagination she surmised the truth

guess Synonyms

guess

v.

  1. To attempt an answer on inadequate evidence

    conjecture, presume, infer, suspect, speculate, imagine, surmise, theorize, opine, hypothesize, predicate, hazard a supposition or conjecture, suggest, figure, incline to a view, divine, reckon, calculate.

  2. To make a choice, almost at hazard

    chance, take a leap in the dark, light on, venture, suppose, presume, imagine, think likely, jump at a conclusion, guess maybe*, make a stab at*, lump it*, have a shot at*, hazard a guess*.

  3. To choose rightly on little or no evidence

    pick, select, happen upon; see choose 1.

guess Usage Examples

Object

  • that's: Frakes says the Star Trek franchise " needed a change " and I guess that's what they got.
  • password: In this example, the hard to guess password is qwerty.
  • it's: Now, he would guess, itâs probably in the top five or ten.
  • mod: I guess the mods will delete this thread and ban me tomorrow, after the April Fool amnesty expires.

Converse of object

  • educate: Whether this was out of love or out of a desire to be rid of me I can only make an educated guess.
  • hazard: I'll hazard a guess that the answer is no.

Adjective modifier

  • anyone's: But beyond that is anyone's guess, although Devonshire did let slip that injury doubt Brian Connor would be considered, if fit.
  • anybody's: What the future holds for the Crown Princess and her family is anybody's guess.
  • wild: We derived a similar figures from analysis of pedestrian collisions ( here ). " A bit of a wild guess.
  • lucky: But he won the chocolate ( with a score of 1 - a lucky guess, but hey, who cares?
  • informed: Once you've opened the image you can make an informed guess about what that profile should be.

Noun used with modifier

anyones: Whether it's a protest against the cup or the club is anyones guess.

Possessives

  • anybody: Where the Rainbow Six series goes from here is anybody's guess.
  • anyone: Where these stories come from is anyone's guess.

Used with why or when

  • who: There have always been a lot of virgin birth myths floating around, guess who made 'em up?
  • that: Always said Abbie was like me, poor kid I guess that just shows how much they are enjoying being there... sigh.
  • what: Can you guess what my top telly show is?
  • which: No prizes for guessing which route William Gibson's gone down.
  • whose: Guess whose music they play... Forever Coltrane hope to record a CD at the end of May.
  • where: I guess where she moved to there were plenty of forks.