Guessing

Guessing
Guess Guess (g[e^]s), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Guessed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Guessing}.] [OE. gessen; akin to Dan. gisse, Sw. gissa, Icel. gizha, D. gissen: cf. Dan. giette to guess, Icel. geta to get, to guess. Probably originally, to try to get, and akin to E. get. See {Get}.] 1. To form an opinion concerning, without knowledge or means of knowledge; to judge of at random; to conjecture. [1913 Webster]

First, if thou canst, the harder reason guess. --Pope. [1913 Webster]

2. To judge or form an opinion of, from reasons that seem preponderating, but are not decisive. [1913 Webster]

We may then guess how far it was from his design. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

Of ambushed men, whom, by their arms and dress, To be Taxallan enemies I guess. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]

3. To solve by a correct conjecture; to conjecture rightly; as, he who guesses the riddle shall have the ring; he has guessed my designs. [1913 Webster]

4. To hit upon or reproduce by memory. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

Tell me their words, as near as thou canst guess them. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

5. To think; to suppose; to believe; to imagine; -- followed by an objective clause. [1913 Webster]

Not all together; better far, I guess, That we do make our entrance several ways. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

But in known images of life I guess The labor greater. --Pope.

Syn: To conjecture; suppose; surmise; suspect; divine; think; imagine; fancy.

Usage: {To Guess}, {Think}, {Reckon}. Guess denotes, to attempt to hit upon at random; as, to guess at a thing when blindfolded; to conjecture or form an opinion on hidden or very slight grounds: as, to guess a riddle; to guess out the meaning of an obscure passage. The use of the word guess for think or believe, although abundantly sanctioned by good English authors, is now regarded as antiquated and objectionable by discriminating writers. It may properly be branded as a colloguialism and vulgarism when used respecting a purpose or a thing about which there is no uncertainty; as, I guess I 'll go to bed. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • guessing — noun Guessing is used before these nouns: ↑game …   Collocations dictionary

  • Guessing — Original name in latin Gssing Name in other language Gjussing, Guessing, Gssing, Nemetujvar, Nmetjvr, Гюссинг State code AT Continent/City Europe/Vienna longitude 47.05936 latitude 16.32431 altitude 232 Population 0 Date 2012 02 03 …   Cities with a population over 1000 database

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  • Guessing game — A guessing game is a game in which the object is to guess some kind of information, such as a word, a phrase, a title, or the location of an object.Many of the games are played co operatively. In some games some player(s) know the answer, but… …   Wikipedia

  • guessing — Synonyms and related words: abashed, abroad, adrift, astray, at sea, bewildered, bothered, clueless, confused, discomposed, disconcerted, dismayed, disoriented, distracted, distraught, disturbed, embarrassed, in a fix, in a maze, in a pickle, in… …   Moby Thesaurus

  • guessing — (Roget s IV) n. Syn. guesswork, supposition, imagination, fancy, inference, deduction, presumption, predisposition, reckoning, surmise, theorizing, taking for granted, positing, postuLating, assuming, presuming, opinion, going by dead reckoning,… …   English dictionary for students

  • guessing — ges n. conjecture; supposition; hypothesis v. suppose; hypothesize; conjecture …   English contemporary dictionary

  • guessing —  Uncertain …   A concise dictionary of English slang

  • guessing — noun an estimate based on little or no information (Freq. 1) • Syn: ↑guess, ↑guesswork, ↑shot, ↑dead reckoning • Derivationally related forms: ↑guess, ↑guess ( …   Useful english dictionary

  • guessing game — noun Any game the object of which is for a player or players to guess a word, etc, for which the other player or players provide clues …   Wiktionary

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