wild guess
Shot in dark
A wild guess is a speculation made with little or no information to support it—essentially a shot in the dark.
The *wild* suggests uncontrolled or random, as opposed to an educated or informed guess: I have no idea how old she is, but if I had to take a wild guess, I'd say forty.
Often used to downplay confidence in one's answer.
Guess from limited facts
- suppositionBelief without proof
- assumptionUnverified belief accepted as true
- hypothesisTestable proposed explanation
- theoryExplanatory set of principles
shot in the dark · stab in the dark · estimate · ballpark · guesstimate · approximation · estimation · inference
Unproven inner sense
- gut feelingInstinctive sense about something
- instinctInnate behavioral tendency
- inklingSlight, uncertain awareness
- sixth senseExtrasensory perception ability
intuition · feeling · premonition · suspicion · notion · impression · foreboding · presentiment
Stake on uncertain outcome
- chanceLikelihood of occurrence
- long shotUnlikely to succeed
- Hail MaryCatholic Marian invocation
- roll of the diceRandom chance outcome
crapshoot · lottery · leap in the dark · outside chance · blind bet · flyer · punt · wager
Casually unrehearsed
- impromptuWithout advance preparation
- impulsiveActing without deliberation
- snapSudden sharp sound
- unplannedNot arranged beforehand
spur-of-the-moment · unrehearsed · off the cuff · random · arbitrary · whimsical · hasty · rash
Uncertain of truth
- tentativeUncertain and provisional
- iffyUncertain, questionable
- questionableOf uncertain validity
- unsureLacking confidence or certainty
uncertain · vague · unclear · indefinite · nebulous · ambiguous · unreliable · unverified
conjecture
Guess from limited facts
- suppositionBelief without proof
- assumptionUnverified belief accepted as true
- hypothesisTestable proposed explanation
theory · shot in the dark · stab in the dark · estimate · ballpark · guesstimate · approximation · estimation · inference · surmise
hunch
Unproven inner sense
- gut feelingInstinctive sense about something
- instinctInnate behavioral tendency
- inklingSlight, uncertain awareness
sixth sense · intuition · feeling · premonition · suspicion · notion · impression · foreboding · presentiment · sense
gamble
Stake on uncertain outcome
roll of the dice · crapshoot · lottery · leap in the dark · outside chance · blind bet · flyer · punt · wager · toss-up
offhand
Casually unrehearsed
unplanned · spur-of-the-moment · unrehearsed · off the cuff · random · arbitrary · whimsical · hasty · rash · knee-jerk
doubtful
Uncertain of truth
- tentativeUncertain and provisional
- iffyUncertain, questionable
- questionableOf uncertain validity
unsure · uncertain · vague · unclear · indefinite · nebulous · ambiguous · unreliable · unverified · unconfirmed
- guessingprediction, hypothesis, conjecture, speculation, hunch
- risksrisk, gamble, bet, wager, chance it
- guessesconjecture, supposition, speculation, surmise, guesstimate
- long shotslong shot, longshot, long odds, dark horse, underdog
- chancechance, luck, lottery, dice, randomness
- estimatesestimate, estimation, ballpark, ballpark estimate, rough estimate
wild, guess, wildly, wilderness, guessing, guessed, wildness, guesswork, guesses