prescience

noun

pre·​science ˈpre-sh(ē-)ən(t)s 

ˈprē-,

-s(ē-)ən(t)s

: foreknowledge of events:

a

: divine omniscience

b

: human anticipation of the course of events : foresight

prescient

ˈpre-sh(ē-)ənt 

ˈprē-

-s(ē-)ənt

adjective

presciently adverb

Did you know?

If you know the origin of science you already know half the story of prescience. Science comes from the Latin verb sciō, scīre, "to know," also source of such words as conscience, conscious, and omniscience. Prescience has as its ancestor a word that attached prae-, a predecessor of pre-, to this root to make praescire, meaning "to know beforehand."

Synonyms

• foreknowledge
• foresight

Examples of prescience in a Sentence

He predicted their response with amazing prescience.

Her prescience as an investor is impressive.

Recent Examples on the Web

After Currie caught the market’s attention with his prescience on oil’s surge to triple digits in the 2000s, his Goldman team famously doubled down in May 2008. —Sridhar Natarajan, Fortune, 7 Aug. 2023

For all his apparent prescience about the Iraq war and his warnings that any permanent Middle East peace agreement would depend on Israel’s acceptance of a Palestinian state, Mr. Viorst’s vision of the Six-Day War’s impact remains unfulfilled. —Sam Roberts, New York Times, 17 Dec. 2022

The company has long produced a gusher of easy revenue thanks to the prescience of its founder, Barry Silbert, who had been the first to spot a lucrative trade that involved wrapping Bitcoin in the garb of traditional finance. —Jeff John Roberts, Fortune Crypto, 17 Aug. 2023

This is what elevates The Truman Show from prescience to prophesy. —Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 20 June 2023

But Kushner’s play still feels contemporary, still speaks to our time with poetic lucidity — and with political prescience, as when Cohn gloats over the stealthy, appointment-by-appointment tactics that can enlarge the influence of the right. —Don Aucoin, BostonGlobe.com, 1 May 2023

The film's prescience is as eerie as its conclusions are disturbing. —Brian Lowry, CNN, 13 Aug. 2021

Flewellen can’t help but be inspired by the eloquence of that observation, and awestruck by its prescience. —Tyrone Beasonstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2023

Melange also conveys a kind of prescience and makes faster-than-light travel practical. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 3 May 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Late Latin praescientia, from Latin praescient-, praesciens, present participle of praescire to know beforehand, from prae- + scire to know — more at science

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

prescience

noun

pre·​science ˈprēsh(-ē)-ən(t)s 

ˈpresh-

: foresight sense 1