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

• 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

But the group’s mentor never foresaw her protégé falling for a bad boy like Juni, who’s got a couple secrets up his sleeve as well. —Peter Debruge, Variety, 21 June 2025

But there was no final agreement to cut the tax on British steel to zero as originally foreseen — seen as vital to preserving the U.K.’s beleaguered steel industry. —Jill Lawless, Fortune, 17 June 2025

In fact, 42% of employees foresee AI replacing some of their existing functions, and 51% of 18-to 24-year-olds think AI will take on some or most of their tasks. —William Arruda, Forbes.com, 15 June 2025

Of course, contextual factors that Anderson didn’t foresee play a role here. —Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 13 June 2025

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