Crossword clues for guessing
guessing
The Collaborative International Dictionary
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.]
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To form an opinion concerning, without knowledge or means of knowledge; to judge of at random; to conjecture.
First, if thou canst, the harder reason guess.
--Pope. -
To judge or form an opinion of, from reasons that seem preponderating, but are not decisive.
We may then guess how far it was from his design.
--Milton.Of ambushed men, whom, by their arms and dress, To be Taxallan enemies I guess.
--Dryden. To solve by a correct conjecture; to conjecture rightly; as, he who guesses the riddle shall have the ring; he has guessed my designs.
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To hit upon or reproduce by memory. [Obs.]
Tell me their words, as near as thou canst guess them.
--Shak. -
To think; to suppose; to believe; to imagine; -- followed by an objective clause.
Not all together; better far, I guess, That we do make our entrance several ways.
--Shak.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.
Wiktionary
n. The act of making a guess; estimate or prediction; foresight vb. (present participle of guess English)
WordNet
n. an estimate based on little or no information [syn: guess, guesswork, shot, dead reckoning]
Wikipedia
A guess (or an act of guessing) is a swift conclusion drawn from data directly at hand, and held as probable or tentative, while the person making the guess (the guesser) admittedly lacks material for a greater degree of certainty. A guess is also an unstable answer, as it is "always putative, fallible, open to further revision and interpretation, and validated against the horizon of possible meanings by showing that one interpretation is more probable than another in light of what we already know". In many of its uses, "the meaning of guessing is assumed as implicitly understood", and the term is therefore often used without being meticulously defined. Guessing may combine elements of deduction, induction, abduction, and the purely random selection of one choice from a set of options. Guessing may also involve the intuition of the guesser, who may have a " gut feeling" about which answer is correct without necessarily being able to articulate a reason for having this feeling.
Usage examples of "guessing".
Weeden gave it to his companion after the end, as a mute clue to the abnormality which had occurred, or whether, as is more probable, Smith had it before, and added the underscoring himself from what he had managed to extract from his friend by shrewd guessing and adroit cross-questioning.
Mortlake, glancing back a short time before the sea appeared on the horizon, had seen the other aeroplane, and guessing at once what its appearance meant, had determined to keep on, even at the risk of plunging himself and his passenger into the sea.
The algorithm generates a key it thinks is secure, and TRANSLTR keeps guessing until it finds it.
The others girls began to whisper to each other, and guessing what they must be saying I turned to Dupre without taking any notice of Madame Madcap, and gave him twelve pistoles, saying that I would pay for the lessons three months in advance, and that I hoped he would bring his new pupil on well.
Finally, to fill the cup of wrath against her, she had sunk a blockader off the coast of Texas, given the slip to a Union manof-war at the Cape of Good Hope, and kept the Navy guessing her unanswered riddles for two whole years.
Yorke had already been quick to slip behind him, perhaps guessing there was going to be trouble, and he was irritated at the way Jackson, Yorke and Bowen seemed to be taking over the operation.
Kamahl continued to run, keeping an eye on Brue and swerving back and forth to keep the mage guessing where he was headed.
It was here that Ross Bland had come in his speedboat, the Rambler, after guessing that Margaret Brye had loaned her craft, the Whiskaway, to her father.
The girl saw me coming from the window, and guessing that I was looking for her, she came down and shewed me in.
Guessing at necessities which they did not dare to mention, I pointed out a closet where they could make themselves comfortable, and they went in hand-in-hand.
I said nothing, for fear she would remark my sensitiveness, and when she would go on saying that my skin was soft, the tickling sensation made me draw back, angry with myself that I did not dare to do the same to her, but delighted at her not guessing how I longed to do it.
Guessing that I did not wish to be shaved, he offered to clip my soft down with the scissors, saying that I would look younger.
When at last the sharp steel found the heart of one of them the other turned to flee, and, guessing that his steps would lead him along the way taken by those I sought, I let him keep ever far enough ahead to think that he was safely escaping my sword.
Meanwhile, Fastball bore down on the helpless Forger, almost psychically guessing which way the other aircraft would turn.
He began moving toward the ball, running slowly at first, waddling like a duck because his legs were a little crooked, and he also moved them in a special way to keep the goalie from guessing which leg he would kick with.