foresee

verb

fore·see | \ fȯr-ˈsē

foresaw\ fȯr-ˈsȯ

\; foreseen\ fȯr-ˈsēn

\; foreseeing

Definition of foresee

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.

Other Words from foresee Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about foresee

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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

Virtually nobody foresaw this outcome: not health law scholars immersed in the Affordable Care Act, not constitutional professors steeped in Commerce Clause precedents, and not Court watchers who had parsed the oral arguments. — Sarah Kliff, Vox, "Is the new Obamacare lawsuit headed to the Supreme Court?," 17 Dec. 2018 Anderson foresees a similar trajectory for atomic radio. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "A new antenna using single atoms could usher in the age of atomic radio," 19 Sep. 2018 In this case, though, the administration foresees drug companies earning more money abroad and using that cash to lower U.S. prices. — David Lazarus, latimes.com, "Limit drug prices? Trump's health secretary calls the idea 'superficially appealing'," 26 June 2018 Labour’s Brexit spokeswoman, Dianne Hayter, who has successfully predicted all of the government’s losses to date, foresees Tuesday’s amendments going the same way. — Alex Morales, Bloomberg.com, "May Faces Defeat Over Fixed Brexit Date in U.K. House of Lords," 7 May 2018 The deal foresees raising German factory productivity by 25 percent and dropping 23,000 jobs through attrition but expressly rules out layoffs. — David Mchugh, chicagotribune.com, "With new CEO, VW shifts focus from scandal to future tech," 13 Apr. 2018 Likewise, no one foresaw the rise in anti-advertising sentiment. — Erin Griffith, WIRED, "Spotify and the Triumph of the Subscription Model," 3 Apr. 2018 What Roger unfortunately didn’t foresee is that his actions would also give an escape to the father’s wife. — Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, "Outlander Actor Richard Rankin Weighs in on Roger's Role in Tonight's Shocking Final Scene," 21 Jan. 2019 But as Justice Alito foresaw, today some sweet mysteries of the universe are more equal than others. — William Mcgurn, WSJ, "The Shaming of Karen Pence," 21 Jan. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'foresee.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.