foresee

play

verb fore·see \ fȯr-ˈsē \

Definition of foresee

foresaw play \fȯr-ˈsȯ\; foreseen play \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

play \fȯr-ˈsē-ər, -ˈsir\ noun

See foresee defined for English-language learners

See foresee defined for kids

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 of foresee from the Web

Reactions to last week’s news of Target moving into town have been mixed, with many La Cañada residents taking to social media to lodge complaints about foreseen congestion, traffic and compounded parking issues in the Town Center.

— sara cardine, La Cañada Valley Sun, "Target officials project July opening for ‘small-format’ store in La Cañada," 23 Aug. 2017
Still, conference coaches in their annual preseason poll foresaw a tight battle for supremacy.

— Alaska Dispatch News, "UAA volleyball picked to win 3rd straight GNAC title," 22 Aug. 2017
Initially, the company foresees the plasma rocket as a means for pushing cargo between Earth and the Moon—or on to Mars.

— eric berger, Ars Technica, "NASA’s plasma rocket making progress toward a 100-hour firing," 10 Aug. 2017
In that document, the moratorium tool is foreseen as a way to help stabilize a bank in crisis.

— john glover, Bloomberg.com, "BOE Says EU Bank-Failure Bill May Hinder Too-Big-to-Fail Fix," 25 July 2017
That means no rate increase is foreseen by analysts until 2019.

— Washington Post, "ECB’s Draghi expected to remain cagey on stimulus exit plans," 20 July 2017
As much competition as there currently seems to be, the future that both Crone and Baker foresee for digital payments leaves plenty of room for emoji, but on the whole is more ☮️ than ⚔.

— joe pinsker, The Atlantic, "Venmo's Pointless-Seeming Social Feed Might Be Its Greatest Strength," 18 July 2017
But by the standard of how things looked six months ago, this is a more functional America than many might have foreseen.

— james fallows, The Atlantic, "What’s Broken—and What’s Still Working—in American Politics," 14 July 2017
Though River Forest officials don't foresee any issues, village staff is continuing to monitor water levels in the Des Plaines River.

— steve schering, chicagotribune.com, "River Forest officials monitoring Des Plaines River for flooding issues," 13 July 2017

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.

First Known Use of foresee

before 12th century

foresee Synonyms

Synonyms

anticipate, divine, forefeel, foreknow, prevision

Related Words

augur, forecast, foretell, predict, presage, prognosticate, prophesy; envisage, envision, foreshadow, prefigure, visualize; alert, caution, foretoken, forewarn; preview; descry, discern, perceive; apprehend, dread, fear

Synonym Discussion of 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

FORESEE Defined for English Language Learners

foresee

play

verb

Definition of foresee for English Language Learners

: to see or become aware of (something that has not yet happened)

FORESEE Defined for Kids

foresee

play

verb fore·see \ fȯr-ˈsē \

Definition of foresee for Students

foresaw \-ˈsȯ\; foreseen \-ˈsēn\; foreseeing

:to see or know about beforehand

I didn't foresee the accident.

Law Dictionary

foresee

transitive verb fore·see

legal Definition of foresee

foresaw; foreseen; foreseeing

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

Learn More about foresee

See words that rhyme with foresee Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for foresee Spanish Central: Translation of foresee Nglish: Translation of foresee for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of foresee for Arabic speakers

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Examples of foresee in a Sentence

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First Known Use of foresee

foresee Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Synonym Discussion of foresee

FORESEE Defined for English Language Learners

foresee

Definition of foresee for English Language Learners

FORESEE Defined for Kids

foresee

Definition of foresee for Students

Law Dictionary

foresee

legal Definition of foresee

Learn More about foresee

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