second-guess

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second-guess

/ˈsɛk.əndˌɡɛs/ UK
/ˈsɛk.(ə)ndˌɡɛs/ US
/ˈsɛk.(ə)ntˌɡɛs/ US
/ˈsɛk.ɪndˌɡɛs/ Canada
/ˈsek.ən(t)ˌɡes/ Australia, New Zealand

Rhymes with -ɛs

Where it comes from

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

verb second-guesses · second-guessing · second-guessed · second guess

transitive To vet or evaluate; to criticize or correct, often by hindsight, by presuming to have a better idea, method, etc. Please don't try to second-guess the procedure that we have already refined and adopted.
Similar: reconsider, rethink, think over
intransitive, transitive To anticipate or predict someone's actions or thoughts by guesswork. In this day and age, it's so easy to stress / 'Cause people are strange and you can never second-guess

Translations

Every language

verb to vet or evaluate

Português	repensar, reconsiderar
Deutsch	in Frage stellen, überdenken, überprüfen
Italiano	valutare, criticare, sindacare
Русский	критикова́ть kritikovátʹ, суди́ть задним числом sudítʹ zadnim čislom

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MLA

"second-guess." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/second-guess. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

second-guess. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/second-guess

Chicago

"second-guess." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/second-guess.

BibTeX

@misc{second_guess_2026,
  title = {second-guess},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/second-guess},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}