Dictionary

second-guess en · VERB

Pronunciation

• sĕkʹəndgĕs' (General-American)
• /ˈsɛk.ɪndˌɡɛs/ (Canada)
• audio Queensland
• /ˈsɛk.(ə)ntˌɡɛs/ (General-American)
• /ˈsɛk.(ə)ndˌɡɛs/ (General-American)
• /ˈsɛk.əndˌɡɛs/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈsek.ən(t)ˌɡes/ (Australia, New-Zealand)

Etymology

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

Meanings

1. (transitive) To vet or evaluate; to criticize or correct, often by hindsight, by presuming to have a better idea, method, etc.
   • Public administration would be hamstrung if courts were free to second-guess reasonable administrative decisions. 1959, U.S. Court of Appeals proceedings:
   • If you suspect you've stepped over the line, ask a few other copy editors to second-guess your headline. 2003, Editing Today:
   • 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.
   • 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. 1957, United States Senate proceedings:
2. (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 2000, Paul Godfrey, Ross Godfrey, Skye Edwards, “Rome Wasn't Built In a Day”, in Fragments of Freedom, performed by Morcheeba:
   • 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. 2019 November 6, Dennis Fancett, Rail, page 54:
   • The Securities and Exchange Commission says Goldman misled two clients by failing to give adequate disclosure.[…] It is impossible to second-guess the case's outcome. But Goldman is already viewed by many as guilty. 2010 April 24, “Greedy Until Proven Guilty”, in The Economist, volume 395, number 8679, page 13:

Forms

Relateds

second thoughts · second guesser · question mark

Synonyms

reconsider · think over · rethink

Translations (21)

ru критикова́ть (to vet or evaluate) · pt repensar (to vet or evaluate) · it sindacare (to vet or evaluate) · fi arvostella jälkikäteen (to vet or evaluate) · ru суди́ть задним числом (to vet or evaluate) · pt reconsiderar (to vet or evaluate) · fi kyseenalaistaa (to vet or evaluate) · sk prehodnocovať (to vet or evaluate) · pl podważyć (to vet or evaluate) · it criticare (to vet or evaluate) · nl heroverwegen (to vet or evaluate) · pl podważać (to vet or evaluate) · pl krytykować (to vet or evaluate) · de überdenken (to vet or evaluate) · de überprüfen (to vet or evaluate) · hy վերանայել (to vet or evaluate) · fi jälkiviisastella (to vet or evaluate) · pl skrytykować (to vet or evaluate) · de in Frage stellen (to vet or evaluate) · it valutare (to vet or evaluate) · sk spochybňovať (to vet or evaluate)