guessing 1 of 2

noun

as in speculation

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guessing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of guess
1
as in assuming
to form an opinion from little or no evidence though she does not speak with an accent, I would still guess that she is a foreigner

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2
as in estimating
to decide the size, amount, number, or distance of (something) without actual measurement I would guess the road goes for about two miles before you have to take a left

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3
as in thinking
to have as an opinion I never would have guessed that she was capable of such a terrible thing

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of guessing
Noun
All that guessing will create herding and noise trading as the crowd chases the crowd like a dog chases its tail, in a futile attempt to get ahead of the next unpredictable change in what humors the Big Player. — Steve H. Hanke, Fortune, 4 Aug. 2026 In addition to being a fun interactive guessing game, the company said the cookie lover who guesses the flavor correctly will win a $25,000 grand prize. — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 31 July 2026 Moving in together won’t guarantee a perfect relationship, but honest conversations before and after the boxes are unpacked can make sharing a home feel more like a partnership than a guessing game. — Ashley Lynch, Charlotte Observer, 29 July 2026 But therapists say honest conversations before and after move-in day can make sharing a home feel much more like a partnership than a guessing game. — Ashley Lynch, Sacbee.com, 29 July 2026 Not a bad day of guessing, though TRIBE got me off to a rough start, with 168 remaining. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026 Petite Summer Dresses Shopping for dresses online can feel like a stressful guessing game where the loser ends up at the tailor. — Mariana Best, PEOPLE, 28 July 2026 The Fenway faithful don’t like sell-offs and the guessing now is the Sawx hold onto Gray and Chapman and hope to get Crochet and Anthony back by mid-August to make a run at the Yankees. — Bill Madden, New York Daily News, 18 July 2026 His captain, Harry Kane, who lost in the semifinal of a World Cup for the second time in three tournament, was also not interested in second-guessing. — Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 16 July 2026
Verb
The bot loses a point for losing to me and another for guessing in five! — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2026 The notion of luck is seemingly an ill fit for his new home state, where fortunes were made by guessing where to drill a hole into the ground in search of oil. — Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 9 Aug. 2026 Since then, Rihanna has kept fans guessing about when — or if — a follow-up would arrive. — Lily Brown, PEOPLE, 6 Aug. 2026 At the end of the fairytale, the Queen vanquishes Rumpelstiltskin by correctly guessing his name. — Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2026 Deliberate ambiguity increases uncertainty by keeping opponents guessing. — Erik Lin-Greenberg, Foreign Affairs, 31 July 2026 When Kimmel hesitated when guessing Spaghetti & Meatball, Affleck and Ding called upon Ding’s trivia partner Stephen Morrison, who opted not to answer. — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 30 July 2026 Harry’s growing suspicion that the young couple is in danger fuels a twisty narrative that keeps both him and the audience guessing and appraising their relationship with technology. — David Faris, TheWeek, 27 July 2026 The Israeli American magician was winning over the crowd with an uncanny name guessing trick, which involved him correctly identifying the name of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt's then-unborn daughter. — Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 24 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for guessing
  1. speculation
  2. assuming
  3. estimating
  4. thinking
  5. theory
  6. suspecting
  7. figuring
  8. believing
Noun
  • The Netherlands international only moved to the Etihad Stadium a year ago but his future is the subject of speculation following the arrival of Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest earlier this summer.
    — David Ornstein, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2026
  • As engagement-farming social-media accounts like Pop Base and celebrity-gossip accounts such as Deuxmoi still post frequent updates of celebrity sightings and speculation, the type of blanketing gossip press that Hilton introduced now spares no one.
    — Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of speculation
Verb
  • Founders often focus heavily on maximizing valuation, assuming that securing the highest purchase price is the primary objective.
    — Amit Jain, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Bloomberg claimed today that OpenAI will reveal its speaker this year and release it in 2027, assuming Apple’s lawsuit doesn’t disrupt those plans.
    — Scharon Harding, ArsTechnica, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of assuming
Verb
  • Investor Michael Burry went further in November 2025, estimating that big cloud firms were understating AI depreciation by about $176 billion from 2026 through 2028.
    — Robert J. Szczerba, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Much existing research has had to rely on estimating which tasks could potentially be accomplished by AI, or indirect surveys rather than actual spending or usage records.
    — Sebastian Herrera, Fortune, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of estimating
Verb
  • Robbie Ray was already thinking about his next start after exiting Friday’s Padres debut after five innings of four-run ball.
    — Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Aug. 2026
  • RVers get creative Everyone is thinking about fuel costs these days, but that hasn’t stopped people from taking RV trips.
    — Sara Hansen, Denver Post, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of thinking
Noun
  • Their goal was to test the leading theory, first put forward in the 1980s, that turbulence — the irregular motion of air currents in the atmosphere — caused shadow bands.
    — Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Zahary emphasized that LLMs, in his experience, have been valuable in assisting humans in developing new theories or finding answers to problems.
    — Joe McKendrick, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of theory
Verb
  • In the r/Solidcore subreddit, one expressed frustration with the fitness studio’s lack of communication after suspecting their ringworm infection came from the Downtown Brooklyn location.
    — Alyssa Goldberg, USA Today, 14 July 2026
  • Oceanside Police Captain Nick Nunez told KNSD that officers are not suspecting foul play.
    — Adam England, PEOPLE, 14 July 2026
Definition of suspecting
Verb
  • So there was this element of newness and freshness to figuring it out.
    — William Earl, Variety, 7 Aug. 2026
  • So, yeah, I have been involved, of course, in figuring that out.
    — Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of figuring
Verb
  • That run came on top of a franchise-record tying 15-game winning streak in July, fueling a dramatic turnaround that has fans believing the magic is back at the old ballpark.
    — Aaron Parseghian, CBS News, 9 Aug. 2026
  • But some Americans are susceptible to believing it, particularly those who came of age during the Cold War, when communism was shorthand for our gravest national threat.
    — Elizabeth Shackelford, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of believing

Browse Nearby Words

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guessing
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Cite this Entry

“Guessing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/guessing. Accessed 13 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of guessing for Spanish Speakers

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