a decent guess

USAGE SUMMARY

"a decent guess" is correct and commonly used in written English.
It means a reasonable or satisfactory guess. Example: "I don't know the exact number, but I can make a decent guess based on my experience."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Academia

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

7 human-written examples

He thought dicing was a decent guess, reasoning, "You can't give someone a job to do repeatedly without him finding an efficient way".

The New Yorker

Now some scientists say these same DNA scores can offer a decent guess at how smart a kid will be later in life.

MIT Technology Review

If you open your phone at lunchtime, I can make a decent guess that you want a place to go for lunch, and I can make a suggestion, which may be right or wrong," says Stoppelman. "We can do that fairly easily, and we've got some releases soon that address that specific use case.

The Guardian - Tech

My friend Catriona once compared the people of the internet to the people of a city: digital natives like me live in Internet Town, know the whole place well and, while we have our preferred haunts, if you're looking for something different, we can probably tell you the best place to find it and how to get there from here (or at least make a decent guess).

The Guardian - Opinion

If you have one team operating on, say, £50m (about the budget of HRT or Marussia, for example) and one on £250m (a decent guess at a top-team budget), where do you cap the budget?

BBC

For now, Microsoft has promised to not release a new build of Windows 10 before the New Year, so it's a decent guess that until the 21st, we won't get new code through official channels.

TechCrunch

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

53 human-written examples

Maybe unsurprising is the better word: when you hear there's going to be a new Thom Yorke album, you can take a pretty decent guess at what it will sound like, way before you've mastered whatever annoying technology is required to actually hear the damn thing.

The Guardian - Music

Though you would think Shorten would be able to hazard a pretty decent guess on what Abbott would be donning.

The Guardian

Statistically, you'll stand a better chance of getting a good score on a Scantron test if you just read the answers, eliminate obviously-wrong answers, and make a halfway decent guess.

WikiHow

If you have a restless mind or an allergy to amazement, you can make some decent guesses about how this trick is done, but where's the fun in that?

The New York Times

The researchers could also make decent guesses at non-dichotomous attributes.

Huffington Post

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "a decent guess", ensure the context implies that while the guess might not be perfect, it is still reasonably accurate or acceptable for the given situation.

Common error

Avoid presenting "a decent guess" as a definitive answer. Instead, acknowledge its speculative nature and any potential limitations.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "a decent guess" functions as a noun phrase, where "decent" modifies the noun "guess". According to Ludwig AI, this expression is both grammatically correct and commonly used. It serves to describe an estimation that is reasonably accurate or acceptable, as demonstrated in the examples provided by Ludwig.

Expression frequency: Common

Frequent in

News & Media

60%

Science

20%

Academia

20%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "a decent guess" is a common and grammatically sound phrase used to describe an estimation that is reasonably accurate, though not necessarily precise. According to Ludwig AI, the phrase is acceptable for use in various writing contexts. Its neutral register makes it suitable for both informal and moderately formal settings, with a prevalence in news, media, scientific and academic writings. When using this phrase, ensure that the context indicates the estimation's speculative nature, and consider alternatives such as "a reasonable estimate" or "a fair approximation" for more formal tones.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

a reasonable estimate

Changes "guess" to a more formal "estimate" and uses the synonym "reasonable".

a fair approximation

Replaces "decent" with "fair" and "guess" with the more precise "approximation".

a plausible conjecture

Offers a more formal and academic alternative, replacing "decent" with "plausible" and "guess" with "conjecture".

a sound hypothesis

Substitutes "guess" with "hypothesis", implying a more structured and testable estimation.

a credible assessment

Emphasizes the believability of the estimation by using "credible assessment".

a likely supposition

Suggests an assumption that is likely to be true.

a tenable prediction

Focuses on the defensibility of the prediction.

a practical estimation

Highlights the utility of the estimation.

a workable theory

Implies a more developed and testable guess.

a rough calculation

Conveys an approximate and perhaps quick estimation.

FAQs

How can I use "a decent guess" in a sentence?

You can use "a decent guess" when you want to express that you are making an estimation that is reasonably accurate but not necessarily precise. For example, "I don't know the exact number, but I can make "a decent guess" based on my experience."

What can I say instead of "a decent guess"?

You can use alternatives like "a reasonable estimate", "a fair approximation", or "a plausible conjecture" depending on the context.

Which is correct, "a decent guess" or "a good guess"?

Both phrases are grammatically correct, but ""a decent guess"" implies a level of acceptability or adequacy, while "a good guess" simply means the estimation is close to the actual value.

What's the difference between "a decent guess" and "an educated guess"?

"A decent guess" suggests a reasonable estimation without necessarily implying specialized knowledge. An "educated guess", on the other hand, implies that the estimation is based on expertise or knowledge in a specific field.