guesswork

noun

Definition of guessworknext
as in speculation
the act or process of finding an answer by guessing This book takes the guesswork out of buying a home. Calculating the drug's long-term effects is pure guesswork.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of guesswork The impact would be felt even more acutely if African officials use this technology to help take the guesswork out of policymaking. — Alexis Akwagyiram, semafor.com, 5 Oct. 2026 The Digital Tire Gauge takes the guesswork out of tire pressure readings. — ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026 Meanwhile, Matt Boldy gets to skate with Joel Eriksson Ek and Blake Coleman, two veterans whose games come with considerably less guesswork. — Michael Russo, New York Times, 3 Oct. 2026 Companies need access to senior-level financial judgment when the stakes become too high for guesswork. — Loran Armstrong, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for guesswork
Recent Examples of Synonyms for guesswork
  1. speculation
  2. inference
  3. conjecture
  4. theory
Noun
  • Each new release of a frontier AI model, such as Anthropic’s Mythos or OpenAI’s Astra, brings a new wave of speculation over how much closer this takes us to artificial general intelligence (AGI) and how much further that lofty goal remains.
    — Noah Giansiracusa, Time, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Last weekend's loss was ugly enough that speculation started immediately afterward that Sam Darnold might be in danger of losing his starting job to Drew Lock.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of speculation
Noun
  • Through a partnership with Amazon Web Services , Cerebras is developing an approach called inference disaggregation, which splits the work between two types of chips.
    — Paul Meeks, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026
  • On October 1st, OpenAI resumed reinforcement learning training and internal inference with tighter security measures, the blog post says.
    — Emma Roth, The Verge, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of inference
Noun
  • No matter how much Reid would rather talk about anything else — and no matter how much the 23-year-old Simmons’ future remains to be determined despite conjecture through the haze.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 26 Oct. 2026
  • On its surface, the conjecture concerns the behavior of a particular function.
    — Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of conjecture
Noun
  • Pike didn’t always have such a cogent theory of the power of the body in performance.
    — Sarah Crompton, Vogue, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The idea that the absence of private property and systematic inequality automatically removes coercion—which forms the core of the Marxist theory of history—is not proven.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of theory

Browse Nearby Words

guesstimating
guesswork
guest
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Cite this Entry

“Guesswork.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/guesswork. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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