second-guess
UK /ˈsɛk.əndˌɡɛs/ · US /ˈsɛk.(ə)ndˌɡɛs/ verb
Forms second-guesses second-guessing second-guessed second guess
- verb (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.”
- verb (transitive, intransitive) To anticipate or predict someone's actions or thoughts by guesswork.
Synonyms
Etymology
A back-formation from second guesser, originally from baseball. First use appears c. 1941.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “second-guess”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details