guess

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The informal use of I guess meaning 'I think it likely, I suppose' developed in America in the late 18th century from the standard use of the phrase meaning 'it is my opinion or hypothesis (that)'. The Americanness of the informal use has been marked throughout the 19th century and much of the 20th century, and it still has the flavour of an Americanism, but it is now widespread throughout the English-speaking world:

No, I guess I don't look at him very much—Gore Vidal, 1955

Martha. You remember them now? George. Yes, I guess so, Martha—Edward Albee, 1962

I guess it takes a long time to grow up—M. Sarton, 1978

I guess you're supposed to think to yourself that you're in a garden—R. Ingalls, 1985

I guess this is my bed and I have to lie on it. Wash the sheets, plump up the pillows and try to make the best of it-weblog, British English 2005 [Old English (up to 1150)C].

Use of I guess as a tag at the end of a statement is characteristic of American English:

He would have been watching the returns in the Senate elections I guess—A. Broinowski, 1973

It's about a meter and a bit under water-about three or four feet, I guess?-weblog, Canadian English 2005 [Old English (up to 1150)C].

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verb

To draw an inference on the basis of inconclusive evidence or insufficient information: conjecture, infer, speculate, suppose, surmise. See opinion.

noun

A judgment, estimate, or opinion arrived at by guessing: conjecture, guesswork, speculation, supposition, surmise. See opinion.

n

Definition: belief, speculation
Antonyms: calculation, measurement

v

Definition: try to figure out; imagine
Antonyms: calculate, measure

IN BRIEF: One who forms opinions with little or no evidence.

A meteorologist has to be a good guesser about the weather at times.

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sign description: The right C hand crosses over in front of the forehead and closes to a S hand.

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For a list of words related to guess, see:

• 1980’s
• Thinking, Judgment, and Consideration - guess: arrive at a conclusion by intuition and without sufficient evidence; surmise; conjecture about accurately
• Intuition and Imagination - guess: opinion not based on specific evidence
• Judgments and Critiques - guess: (vb) estimate; reach opinion with little evidence

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See words rhyming with "guesser."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Guess.

Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - tro, gå ud fra, gætte, regne ud
v. intr. - gætte, gisne, komme med et bud
n. - gæt, gisning, formodning

idioms:

• at a (rough) guess    efter (et groft) skøn
• I guess    tror jeg, jeg tror
• keep someone guessing    holde en hen i det uvisse

Nederlands (Dutch)
raden, gissen, vermoeden, gissing

Français (French)
v. tr. - deviner, estimer, conjecturer que, supposer que, (US) supposer, penser, croire
v. intr. - deviner, faire des suppositions, conjecturer, être dans le doute
n. - supposition, conjecture

idioms:

• at a guess    approximatif, approximativement
• at a rough guess    approximatif, approximativement
• I guess    je crois, je suppose
• keep someone guessing    laisser qn dans le doute

Deutsch (German)
v. - erraten, raten, schätzen, glauben
n. - Mutmaßung, Vermutung, Schätzung

idioms:

• at a guess    geschätzt, ungefähr
• at a rough guess    geschätzt, ungefähr
• I guess    ich glaube, ich schätze
• keep someone guessing    jmndn. im ungewissen lassen

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - εικάζω, μαντεύω, υποθέτω, νομίζω
n. - εικασία, μάντεμα, γνώμη

idioms:

• at a (rough) guess    κατά προσέγγιση, υπολογίζοντας χοντρικά
• I guess    υποθέτω, νομίζω
• keep someone guessing    αφήνω κάποιον στο σκοτάδι

Italiano (Italian)
indovinare, sospettare, azzeccare, congettura

idioms:

• at a (rough) guess    all'incirca
• I guess    credo
• keep someone guessing    tenere nell'incertezza

Português (Portuguese)
v. - adivinhar, estimar, resolver
n. - suposição (f), estimativa (f)

idioms:

• at a (rough) guess    aproximadamente
• I guess    eu suponho
• keep someone guessing    deixar alguém na incerteza

Русский (Russian)
отгадывать, угадывать, догадываться, гадать (не знать точно), прикидывать, полагать, догадка, предположение

idioms:

• at a (rough) guess    предположительно, по предварительной оценке
• I guess    я думаю, что...
• keep someone guessing    держать кого-л. в неведении

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - presumir, suponer, adivinar, acertar, conjeturar
v. intr. - presumir, suponer, adivinar, acertar, conjeturar
n. - conjetura, suposición, cálculo, opinión, parecer

idioms:

• at a guess    a poco más o menos
• at a rough guess    a ojo de buen cubero, a primera vista, a algo más o menos
• I guess    me parece, yo creo que
• keep someone guessing    tener a alguien en suspenso

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - gissa, förmoda
n. - gissning, förmodan

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
猜测, 猜中, 推测, 猜, 想, 认为, 臆测

idioms:

• at a (rough) guess    凭猜测
• I guess    我想
• keep someone guessing    让某人吃不准

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 猜測, 猜中, 推測
v. intr. - 猜, 猜中, 推測, 想, 認為
n. - 猜測, 臆測

idioms:

• at a (rough) guess    憑猜測
• I guess    我想
• keep someone guessing    讓某人吃不准

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - 추측하다, 생각해내다
v. intr. - 추측하다, 어림잡다
n. - 추측, 짐작

idioms:

• at a (rough) guess    대충 짐작으로
• keep someone guessing    마음 졸이게 하다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 推測する, あてずっぽうを言う, 言いあてる, 思う, 憶測する, 言い当てる
n. - 推測, 憶測

idioms:

• anybody's guess    不確かなこと
• anyone's guess    誰にも予想がつかない
• at a (rough) guess    推測では
• I guess    多分そう思う

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يخمن, يحزر (الاسم) ظن, تخمين, حزر, تحزير‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮ניחש, שיער‬
v. intr. - ‮ניחש, שיער, חשד, פתר‬
n. - ‮השערה, ניחוש‬

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