informed guess
Reasoned but uncertain
An informed guess is a prediction or estimate based on relevant knowledge or experience rather than pure speculation.
Where a wild guess might be random, an informed guess draws on available evidence: I don't know exactly when she'll arrive, but my informed guess is around six.
The phrase acknowledges uncertainty while claiming some basis for the conclusion.
- clueSolving aid
- deductionConclusion from premises
- forecastingEstimating future conditions
- dataFacts for analysis
- troubleshootingSystematic fault diagnosis
risk assessment · hypothesis testing · inference · connect the dots · precedent · observation · probability · playing the odds · glance · patterns · evaluation · context · reasoning · working theory · rule of thumb · back-of-envelope · estimation · rough estimate
informed guesswild guess
Uninformed speculation attempt
blind guess · random guess · shot in the dark · stab in the dark · uneducated guess
informed guesscertainty
Total absence of doubt
known quantity · absolute certainty · empirical evidence · hard evidence
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