To guess is to form an answer or opinion without being sure or without having all the facts. Sometimes guesses are random, and sometimes they are based on small clues.
From Middle English “gessen,” meaning “to judge, estimate,” possibly from a Germanic root meaning “to try, choose.” It originally suggested more thoughtful estimation than wild guessing.
Guess once meant more like “make a judgment” than “take a wild shot in the dark.” Even today, your “best guess” is really a tiny, fast piece of reasoning squeezed into a single moment.
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