foresee

verb

fore·​see fȯr-ˈsē 

foresaw fȯr-ˈsȯ  ; foreseen fȯr-ˈsēn  ; foreseeing

transitive verb

: to see (something, such as a development) beforehand

He could not have foreseen the consequences of his actions.

She foresaw the company's potential and invested early on.

foreseer

fȯr-ˈsē-ər 

-ˈsir

noun

Synonyms of foresee

• anticipate

Choose the Right Synonym for foresee

foresee, foreknow, divine, anticipate mean to know beforehand.

foresee implies nothing about how the knowledge is derived and may apply to ordinary reasoning and experience.

economists should have foreseen the recession

foreknow usually implies supernatural assistance, as through revelation.

if only we could foreknow our own destinies

divine adds to foresee the suggestion of exceptional wisdom or discernment.

was able to divine Europe's rapid recovery from the war

anticipate implies taking action about or responding emotionally to something before it happens.

the waiter anticipated our every need

Examples of foresee in a Sentence

We couldn't have foreseen the consequences of our actions.

He foresees a day when all war will cease.

She foresaw the company's potential and invested early on.

Recent Examples on the Web

The data can’t foresee recessions or pandemics—or the arrival of a technology that might do to the workforce what an asteroid did to the dinosaurs. —Josh Tyrangiel, The Atlantic, 10 Feb. 2026

That drop was always foreseen given how fan-front-loaded the movie was on its very low marketing cost. —Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 7 Feb. 2026

Some foresee this leading to a sort of explosion in the intelligence of AI systems, while others caution that such iteration might work to increase capabilities in some domains — like software engineering — while AI systems will continue to struggle on cognitive or physical abilities. —Jared Perlo, NBC news, 5 Feb. 2026

The plan also foresees coordination on investment, geological mapping and rapid responses to supply chain disruptions. —Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 4 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for foresee

• agree
• allee
• banshee
• beastly
• bibi
• bowsprit
• carefree
• cerci
• chablis
• cowpea
• crappie
• crappy

Kids Definition

foresee

verb

fore·​see fōr-ˈsē 

fȯr-

foresaw -ˈsȯ  ; foreseen -ˈsēn  ; foreseeing

: to see or realize beforehand : expect

foreseeable

-ˈsē-ə-bəl

adjective

foreseer

-ˈsē-ər

noun

Legal Definition

foresee

transitive verb

fore·​see

foresaw; foreseen; foreseeing

: to be aware of the reasonable possibility of (as an occurrence or development) beforehand