second-guesses

verb

present tense third-person singular of second-guess
1
as in outmaneuvers

Related Words

Relevance
2
as in speculates (about)

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for second-guesses
  1. outmaneuvers
  2. analyzes
  3. balks
  4. reasons
  5. outsmarts
  6. believes
  7. thwarts
  8. concludes
Verb
  • As a result, the collapse of Stockmann’s crusade feels rushed—especially in the pivotal town-meeting scene, in which his brother, the mayor, outmaneuvers him and fellow-citizens shout him down.
    — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
Definition of outmaneuvers
Verb
  • Its bot ingests and analyzes the data from a patient's bloodwork, then makes recommendations (for follow-up testing, medications, etc), then that is all reviewed by a human physician.
    — Fiorella Valdesolo, Allure, 30 Oct. 2026
  • That has had a chilling effect on immigrant communities living in the state according to Gabriela Ramirez-Perez, the immigration and economic security policy analyst with the Oklahoma Policy Institute, a think tank that analyzes state policy.
    — Jaclyn Diaz, NPR, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of analyzes
Verb
  • As the women of the village take note of the Wicker Husband’s presence, the men gripe at his open displays of affection, and the Tailor’s Wife balks.
    — Janelle Okwodu, Vogue, 26 Oct. 2026
  • But when even dim-witted Chad also balks at the plan, Nora is forced to blackmail him into participating.
    — Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of balks
Verb
  • The consultant reasons by filling a notebook with calculations, then hands you a one-sentence answer, and keeps the notebook.
    — Adam Fish, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2026
  • How the Fed reasons its way to agreements is as important as the agreements.
    — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 18 June 2026
Definition of reasons
Verb
  • Seth Rollins outsmarts Bron Breakker The rivalry between Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker has not slowed down one bit.
    — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 2 June 2026
Definition of outsmarts
Verb
  • Larter believes engineers could develop similar mechanisms for hundreds of ordnance types.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 31 Oct. 2026
  • Without a clear owner, those recommendations circulate and generate input, and often the leader believes the recommendations turn into action.
    — Maureen Metcalf, Forbes.com, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of believes
Verb
  • Heath pilots a fighter jet, deploys bombs in foreign countries, and thwarts cyberattacks, all after remarkably cursory and casual conversations with a government official.
    — Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Another tactic is treating ship hulls with special paint that thwarts unwanted hitchhikers from latching on.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 30 July 2026
Definition of thwarts
Verb
  • The report concludes that the future of denim finishing will not be defined by individual technologies alone but by the ability to manage complex processes in a more controlled, transparent, and continuously improvable manner.
    — Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Awaiting Artemis The gallery concludes with a space reserved to exhibit the Artemis I capsule, the spacecraft that flew without astronauts to the Moon in 2022.
    — Robert Pearlman, ArsTechnica, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of concludes
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.

Browse Nearby Words

second-guessed
second-guesses
second-guessing
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Second-guesses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/second-guesses. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

The Words of the Week - Nov. 6

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
couple-laugh-cafe
Quiz: Foreign Phrases You Should Know Check out your bona fides and avoid any faux pas.
See All