foresee

verb

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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

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 Zandi doesn't foresee U.S. home prices falling nationally over the coming year. — Fortune, 9 June 2022 Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, meanwhile, doesn't foresee market cataclysm once the bear market officially begins. — Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 20 May 2022 But Tollner didn’t foresee Kupp setting the NFL on fire with the Rams. — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Feb. 2022 But additional large hikes are expected to be announced at the Fed’s next two meetings, in June and July, and economists and investors foresee the fastest pace of rate increases since 1989. — Christopher Rugaber, Chicago Tribune, 4 May 2022 That said, some scientists foresee COVID boosters for years to come. — Esther Landhuis, Scientific American, 28 Apr. 2022 Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers says his broken toe is improving and doesn't foresee having surgery. — Mike Hart, USA TODAY, 8 Dec. 2021 Arthur DeGaetano, director of the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University, said the flash floods of Wednesday night resulted from not one storm but several small storms whose interactions with each other were hard to foresee. — New York Times, 3 Sep. 2021 But foreign-affairs experts don’t foresee any major policy shifts on China from Mr. Albanese. — Mike Cherney, WSJ, 21 May 2022 See More

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.