guess

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. surmise, guesswork, supposition, assumption, conjecture, theory, guesstimate (inf.). —v. suppose, divine, predict, surmise, conjecture. See intuition.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

Syn. conjecture, surmise, supposition, theory, hypothesis, presupposition, presumption, opinion, postulate, estimate, divination, association of ideas, surmisal, suspicion, thesis, guesswork, view, belief, assumption, speculation, supposal, postulation, fancy, inference, conclusion, deduction, induction, guesstimate*, shot in the dark*.

Syn.- guess implies the forming of a judgment or estimate (often a correct one) without sufficient knowledge for certainty [ he guessed the number of beans in the jar ] ; to conjecture is to infer or predict from incomplete or uncertain evidence [ I cannot conjecture what his plans are ] ; surmise implies a conjecturing through mere intuition or imagination [ she surmised the truth ] v.

1. [To attempt an answer on inadequate evidence]

Syn. conjecture, presume, infer, suspect, speculate, imagine, surmise, theorize, opine, hypothesize, predicate, hazard a supposition or conjecture, suggest, figure, incline to a view, divine, reckon, calculate.

2. [To make a choice, almost at hazard]

Syn. chance, take a leap in the dark, light on, venture, suppose, presume, imagine, think likely, jump at a conclusion, guess maybe*, make a stab at*, lump it*, have a shot at*, hazard a guess*.

3. [To choose rightly on little or no evidence]

Syn. pick, select, happen upon; see choose 1 .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

estimate, *guesstimate, conjecture, hypothesis, calculation, presumption, speculation, assumption, supposition, *shot in the dark, *ballpark figure, reckoning, hunch.

II

v.

estimate, *guesstimate, calculate, hypothesize, conjecture, presume, speculate, assume, suppose, *take a shot in the dark, *give a ballpark figure, reckon, figure, deduce, infer, theorize, gather, imagine.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I verb To draw an inference on the basis of inconclusive evidence or insufficient information: conjecture, infer, speculate, suppose, surmise. See OPINION. II noun A judgment, estimate, or opinion arrived at by guessing: conjecture, guesswork, speculation, supposition, surmise. See OPINION.