prescient

adjective

pre·​scient -nt 

: having or marked by prescience : having foreknowledge : characterized by foresight

prescient of what he was later to fulfill

—H. O. Taylor

some extraordinarily prescient memoranda on the probable course of postwar relationships

—R. H. Rovere

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Who Can Be Truly prescient?

Being truly prescient would require supernatural powers. But well-informed people may have such good judgment as to appear prescient, and prescient is often used to mean "having good foresight". Some newspaper columnists may seem prescient in their predictions, but we can't help suspecting that any apparent prescience is usually the result of leaks from people with inside knowledge.

Word History

Etymology

Latin praescient-, praesciens, present participle of praescire to know beforehand, from prae- pre- + scire to know

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Kids Definition

prescient

adjective

pre·​scient

ˈprēsh(-ē)-ənt, 

ˈpresh-

: having foresight

presciently adverb