Wiktionary

second-guess

See also: second guess

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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A back-formation from second guesser. First use appears c. 1941.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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second-guess (third-person singular simple present second-guesses, present participle second-guessing, simple past and past participle second-guessed)

  1. (idiomatic, transitive) To vet or evaluate; to criticize or correct, often by hindsight, by presuming to have a better idea, method, etc.
    • 1959, U.S. Court of Appeals proceedings:
      Public administration would be hamstrung if courts were free to second-guess reasonable administrative decisions.
    • 1957, United States Senate proceedings:
      As a practical matter, a fertilizer company could not afford to second-guess the Federal Trade Commission or a jury in a triple damage case on so obscure a point.
    • 2003, Editing Today:
      If you suspect you've stepped over the line, ask a few other copy editors to second-guess your headline.
    Please don't try to second-guess the procedure that we have already refined and adopted.
    Once she began listening to her instincts and didn't second-guess herself the entire time, her artwork improved noticeably.
  2. (transitive) To anticipate or predict someone's actions or thoughts by guesswork.
    • 2019 November 6, Dennis Fancett, Rail, page 54:
      But it is not Network Rail's job to second guess whether the sponsoring authority really does need the scheme, and whether it has looked at other options.

Synonyms

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Translations

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See also

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References

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