How to Use second-guess in a Sentence

second-guess

verb
  • Kind of hard to second-guess that move, but the Bears will be armed with two second-rounders in 2025.
    — Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2024
  • Give yourself time to get over the second-guessing and try not to change the story.
    — Meredith Goldstein, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Sep. 2023
  • There was no time to — No time to second-guess yourself. Or let that fear settle in.
    — Vulture, 22 May 2023
  • Southers second-guessed some aspects of the initiative in a 2017 Times op-ed.
    — Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2024
  • One warned Ziani not to second-guess a professor of Gino’s stature in this way.
    — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2023
  • Of course there will be second-guessing after any loss.
    — Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 12 Feb. 2024
  • Scott wasn’t a man prone to second-guessing himself, but those doubts wouldn’t relent.
    — Chris Nashawaty, WIRED, 30 July 2024
  • Mercury in Aries leaves no room for second-guessing, so trust your gut and speak your mind — this is the perfect time to make an impact.
    — Valerie Mesa, People.com, 3 Mar. 2025
  • By now, the bowhunter was discouraged and second-guessing his decision to end the season there, holed up in a blind.
    — Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 13 Mar. 2025
  • Their expertise can save you the time and headache of second-guessing a large purchase — or steer you away from an ill-fitting piece from the start.
    — Ryan Conner, Dallas News, 11 May 2023
  • Thomas Webster at the Jan. 6 Rally Inevitably, some of the outcomes were ripe for second-guessing.
    — Alec MacGillis, ProPublica, 6 Feb. 2025
  • At this stage, knob twiddling and second-guessing often sets in.
    — Nate Anderson, Ars Technica, 6 Feb. 2024
  • Jones has since second-guessed their plan of going into the season with two rookie starters on the offensive line.
    — Jon MacHota, The Athletic, 14 Jan. 2025
  • Rocky spends much of the film brooding, moping, second-guessing himself.
    — Kelefa Sanneh, The New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2023
  • In practical terms, scrapping Chevron would transfer that power not to Congress or the people, but to the courts that second-guess them.
    — Matt Ford, The New Republic, 1 June 2023
  • The administration also argued that the lower court judges were wrong to second-guess the FDA’s judgment about the safety of a drug that has been used for decades.
    — David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2023
  • Toward the end of the journey, my second-guessing snowballed into a crisis of conscience.
    — Chris Wallace, Travel + Leisure, 16 Oct. 2024
  • What was just second nature for you before, now you’re second-guessing.
    — Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 18 July 2023
  • Don’t: Wait too long for the perfect moment or second-guess yourself into silence.
    — Lorraine K. Lee, Contributor, CNBC, 31 Mar. 2025
  • The following day, Mars will station retrograde in Leo, which could cause you to second-guess some of your most recent choices.
    — Valerie Mesa, People.com, 1 Dec. 2024
  • In an interview last May, Beed’s civil surgeon at the time, Suresh Sable, said the government should not second-guess doctors.
    — Qadri Inzamam Saumya Khandelwal, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2024
  • Don’t second-guess yourself; trust and believe in your abilities.
    — Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 20 Sep. 2024
  • Instead of second-guessing themselves, their attitude is to always take the chance.
    — Stephanie Sengwe, Peoplemag, 26 July 2024
  • The Bachelor is back on Monday, and tonight's episode is all about meeting the parents, making big decisions, and maybe even some second-guessing along the way.
    — Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 4 Mar. 2025
  • Reubens’s first take on Pee-wee on the improv stage was riskier, intended entirely for grown-ups who were just old enough to second-guess their own childhoods.
    — Hank Stuever, Washington Post, 31 July 2023
  • Both situations will be easy to second-guess this winter.
    — Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2023
  • However, this same discretion, the court added, shields the agency's decisions from being second-guessed by the courts​.
    — Jesus Mesa, Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2024
  • In a decision that would be second-guessed for years to come, Twitter also shut down Vine, its video app that had popularized the concept of short, bite-sized videos.
    — Kurt Wagner, Fortune, 21 Feb. 2024
  • Unlike in previous years, there is no hesitation at the rim or second-guessing his decision to get the ball and go.
    — Shayna Rubin, The Mercury News, 31 Jan. 2024
  • Unexpectedly, head coach Greg Ryan second-guessed what wasn’t broken.
    — Jeff Rueter, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'second-guess.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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