Library / English Dictionary

GUESS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

An estimate based on little or no information

Synonyms:

dead reckoning; guess; guessing; guesswork; shot

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("guess" is a kind of...):

approximation; estimate; estimation; idea (an approximate calculation of quantity or degree or worth)

Derivation:

guess (expect, believe, or suppose)

guess (put forward, of a guess, in spite of possible refutation)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence

Synonyms:

conjecture; guess; hypothesis; speculation; supposition; surmisal; surmise

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("guess" is a kind of...):

opinion; view (a message expressing a belief about something; the expression of a belief that is held with confidence but not substantiated by positive knowledge or proof)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "guess"):

divination (successful conjecture by unusual insight or good luck)

Derivation:

guess (expect, believe, or suppose)

guess (judge tentatively or form an estimate of (quantities or time))

guess (put forward, of a guess, in spite of possible refutation)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Expect, believe, or suppose

Example:

I guess she is angry at me for standing her up

Synonyms:

guess; imagine; opine; reckon; suppose; think

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "guess" is one way to...):

anticipate; expect (regard something as probable or likely)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "guess"):

suspect (hold in suspicion; believe to be guilty)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody to INFINITIVE
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Sentence example:

They guess that there was a traffic accident

Derivation:

guess (an estimate based on little or no information)

guess (a message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence)

guesser (a person who guesses)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Guess correctly; solve by guessing

Example:

He guessed the right number of beans in the jar and won the prize

Synonyms:

guess; infer

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "guess" is one way to...):

figure out; lick; puzzle out; solve; work; work out (find the solution to (a problem or question) or understand the meaning of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "guess"):

tell (discern or comprehend)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

guesser (a person who guesses)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Judge tentatively or form an estimate of (quantities or time)

Example:

I estimate this chicken to weigh three pounds

Synonyms:

approximate; estimate; gauge; guess; judge

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "guess" is one way to...):

calculate; cipher; compute; cypher; figure; reckon; work out (make a mathematical calculation or computation)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "guess"):

quantise; quantize (approximate (a signal varying continuously in amplitude) by one whose amplitude is restricted to a prescribed set of discrete values)

misgauge (gauge something incorrectly or improperly)

place; put; set (estimate)

give (estimate the duration or outcome of something)

lowball; underestimate (make a deliberately low estimate)

assess (estimate the value of (property) for taxation)

make (calculate as being)

count; reckon (take account of)

truncate (approximate by ignoring all terms beyond a chosen one)

guesstimate (estimate based on a calculation)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s PP
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

guess (a message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence)

guesser (a person who guesses)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Put forward, of a guess, in spite of possible refutation

Example:

I cannot pretend to say that you are wrong

Synonyms:

guess; hazard; pretend; venture

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "guess" is one way to...):

speculate (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)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "guess"):

anticipate; call; forebode; foretell; predict; prognosticate; promise (make a prediction about; tell in advance)

surmise; suspect (imagine to be the case or true or probable)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

guess (an estimate based on little or no information)

guess (a message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence)

guesser (a person who guesses)

guessing (an estimate based on little or no information)

Credits

 Context examples: 

If the label says two teaspoons and you're using a dosing cup with ounces only, don't guess.

(Medicines and Children, Food and Drug Administration)

We realize that it can be difficult to make these estimates, and most likely it will be a 'best guess,' but please give us your best estimate.

(NPS - How Intense is Your Deep Pain, NCI Thesaurus)

I dared not ask the fatal question, but I was known, and the officer guessed the cause of my visit.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Without looking, the patients could not guess the direction their joints were being moved as well as the control subjects could.

(“Sixth sense” may be more than just a feeling, NIH)

Then he could easily guess what had happened, and much grief reigned in the royal court.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

If this sounds a little obsessive to you, I guess it is!

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

"Why, I guess so," Dorothy answered.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

All that Silver said was a riddle to him, but you would never have guessed it from his tone.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Yes, a few of us even then could have guessed the date.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He was very, very old, so old that he was past all comparison, and no one by looking at his mummy skin and fish-like eyes could give a guess at his years.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)