outguess

O1U1T1G2U1E1S1S1

verb

To beat through accurate anticipation of someone's plans and actions.

“Naomi Novik, His Majesty's Dragon "Trying to out-guess Bonaparte; the thought makes my blood run cold."”

RareScrabble 9

Meanings

verboutguess (third-person singular simple present outguesses, present participle outguessing, simple past and past participle outguessed)

present singular third person outguesses · participle present outguessing · participle past outguessed · past outguessed

  1. transitiveTo beat through accurate anticipation of someone's plans and actions.

    Naomi Novik, His Majesty's Dragon "Trying to out-guess Bonaparte; the thought makes my blood run cold."

    4 more examples

    He outguessed, outscored, and outguarded the Tiger, though the latter in a guard position showed that he was a real basketball man.

    1921, The Colorado School of Mines Magazine - Volumes 11-13, page 22

    Switching on “Jeopardy,” she simultaneously, talks to her baby, pages through the paper, and outguesses the TV contestants.

    1972 December 5, “A Day in the Life of a Welfare Mother”, in The New York Times

    It has been the dream of socialist governments to outguess markets by investing in winning industries that would provide the wherewithal to support their social welfare programs.

    1982 March 14, Aaron Wildavsky, “AGAINST REAGANOMICS”, in The New York Times

    Money managers who play down currencies tend to argue that outguessing foreign exchange markets in the short term is perilous, and that, over the long haul, shifts in currency values tend to offset one another.

    1986 May 25, William G. McBride, “INVESTING; CHASING RETURNS IN DIFFERENT CURRENCIES”, in The New York Times

    Synonyms: outfox, outsmart, outwit

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo beat through accurate anticipation of someone's plans and actions.

More synonyms by meaning

verbattempt to anticipate or predict

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*úd
  2. Proto-Germanic*ūt
  3. Proto-Germanic*ūt-
  4. Old Englishūt-
  5. Middle Englishut-
  6. Englishout-
  7. Englishguess
  8. Englishoutguess

From out- + guess.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

outguess. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/outguess

MLA

“outguess.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/outguess. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “outguess,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/outguess.

Source: outguess on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.