second-guess
Americanverb (used with object)
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to use hindsight in criticizing or correcting.
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to predict (something) or outguess (someone).
We must try to second-guess what he'll do next.
verb
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to criticize or evaluate with hindsight
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to attempt to anticipate or predict (a person or thing)
Other Word Forms
- second-guesser noun
Etymology
Origin of second-guess
First recorded in 1945–50
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
While I was open to skepticism and second-guessing, indeed I welcomed such a process, in the end I had to trust my own gut.
From Los Angeles Times
While there have been no formal or public movements on a Mavericks sale, Stein’s report illustrates how even billionaire investors aren’t immune to second-guessing selling an investment, also known as “seller’s remorse.”
From MarketWatch
The government urged Leon not to block what they called a military personnel action or second-guess the professional judgment of senior military officials who determined Kelly’s conduct “risked eroding good order and discipline.”
There’s no more second-guessing whether the bots are here to stay.
But he’d spent so much time trying not to that it was so easy to second-guess himself.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
