forewent
fȯr-ˈwent 
; foregone
fȯr-ˈgȯn
; foregone
fȯr-ˈgȯn
also -ˈgän
; foregoing
fȯr-ˈgō-iŋ
-ˈgȯ(-)iŋ
; foregoes
fȯr-ˈgōz
: to go before : precede
The story of his mishap forewent him.
fore·go
less common spelling of forgo
1
: to give up the enjoyment or advantage of : do without
… never forwent an opportunity of honest profit …—
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevensondecided to forgo dessert for a few days …
2
archaic
: forsake
Examples of forego in a Sentence
Verb (1)
if the sparse crowds are any indication of the public's interest in the presidential candidate, then his reputation obviously foregoes him
Recent Examples on the Web
The Denver Post Editorial Board, Denver Post, 3 Mar. 2026
While savers will have to forego access to their funds to earn this return (or risk having to pay an early withdrawal fee), that sacrifice could be worth it in exchange for the $500, especially knowing that this interest will be readily available for holiday shopping.
—Matt Richardson, CBS News, 27 Feb. 2026
Years of steadily climbing coffee prices have some in this country of coffee lovers upending their habits by nixing café visits, switching to cheaper brews or foregoing it altogether.
—Matt Sedensky, Fortune, 16 Feb. 2026
Years of steadily climbing coffee prices have some in this country of coffee lovers upending their habits by nixing café visits, switching to cheaper brews or foregoing it altogether.
—ABC News, 13 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for forego
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Verb
That form of corruption would be worse than living large on the taxpayer dollars when many Denverites have had to forego eating out entirely to try and remain in the city and under budget.
—The Denver Post Editorial Board, Denver Post, 3 Mar. 2026
While savers will have to forego access to their funds to earn this return (or risk having to pay an early withdrawal fee), that sacrifice could be worth it in exchange for the $500, especially knowing that this interest will be readily available for holiday shopping.
—Matt Richardson, CBS News, 27 Feb. 2026
Years of steadily climbing coffee prices have some in this country of coffee lovers upending their habits by nixing café visits, switching to cheaper brews or foregoing it altogether.
—Matt Sedensky, Fortune, 16 Feb. 2026
Years of steadily climbing coffee prices have some in this country of coffee lovers upending their habits by nixing café visits, switching to cheaper brews or foregoing it altogether.
—ABC News, 13 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for forego
Cite this Entry
“Forego.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forego. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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