1
as in expecting
to believe in the future occurrence of (something)
I anticipate that we'll be seeing you for New Year's
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in foreseeing
to realize or know about beforehand
I anticipated this unhelpful response
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of anticipating
That same day, Robert Walters, former chair of the Dallas Citizens Council, a prominent business group, emailed Tolbert a list of questions anticipating a potential City Hall move.
—
Nick Wooten, Dallas Morning News, 17 Mar. 2026
Schumacher said understanding why this winter was so warm in the West, as well as studying the heat wave, is crucial to better anticipating what’s ahead in the West.
—Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 17 Mar. 2026
Wall Street isn’t anticipating a big splash from the event.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 16 Mar. 2026
While most in New England may be anticipating March 17, Saint Patrick's Day, there's another more mathematical holiday to celebrate first.
—Rin Velasco, The Patriot Ledger, 13 Mar. 2026
Whitney Peak, Matt Nable, Andrew Lees, Alyla Browne, Stacy Clausen, Elijah Ungvary and Dante Ubaldi round out the cast, who are no doubt anticipating the film's release following multiple switch-ups.
—Leigh Blickley, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Mar. 2026
Here, Doku slipped in O’Reilly, who made a good run in behind Valverde to play a cross into the box, which Erling Haaland wasn’t quite anticipating.
—Michael Cox, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2026
Already, some shippers are avoiding the Red Sea route, anticipating Houthi attacks.
—Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2026
The Tigers did add kicker Brunno Reus from Florida State to their roster, and Craig is anticipating a competition.
—Lilly Marshall, Kansas City Star, 11 Mar. 2026
Nick Wooten, Dallas Morning News, 17 Mar. 2026
Schumacher said understanding why this winter was so warm in the West, as well as studying the heat wave, is crucial to better anticipating what’s ahead in the West.
—Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 17 Mar. 2026
Wall Street isn’t anticipating a big splash from the event.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 16 Mar. 2026
While most in New England may be anticipating March 17, Saint Patrick's Day, there's another more mathematical holiday to celebrate first.
—Rin Velasco, The Patriot Ledger, 13 Mar. 2026
Whitney Peak, Matt Nable, Andrew Lees, Alyla Browne, Stacy Clausen, Elijah Ungvary and Dante Ubaldi round out the cast, who are no doubt anticipating the film's release following multiple switch-ups.
—Leigh Blickley, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Mar. 2026
Here, Doku slipped in O’Reilly, who made a good run in behind Valverde to play a cross into the box, which Erling Haaland wasn’t quite anticipating.
—Michael Cox, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2026
Already, some shippers are avoiding the Red Sea route, anticipating Houthi attacks.
—Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2026
The Tigers did add kicker Brunno Reus from Florida State to their roster, and Craig is anticipating a competition.
—Lilly Marshall, Kansas City Star, 11 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anticipating
Verb
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Internally, the Broncos’ brass went into free agency aligned without expecting to make a massive splash in the market.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
15 Mar. 2026
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Jocelyn was expecting a baby girl and had named her Micah Leigh.—
Marcelena Spencer,
CBS News,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Still, many business heads are upbeat, foreseeing a sense of continuity and a measure of economic reassurance and certainty ahead.—
Mayu Saini,
Sourcing Journal,
11 Feb. 2026
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And Tester is foreseeing progress that goes far beyond the 2006 blue wave that swept him into office.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The plan is awaiting Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's final approval.—
Steven Beynon,
ABC News,
20 Mar. 2026
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The constitutionality of that executive order is currently awaiting a Supreme Court ruling.—
Robert Schmad,
The Washington Examiner,
19 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Each week since the season began in August, four of us — young Wilfred, a guest subscriber on rotation, an algorithm and I — have been predicting the Premier League scores with varying degrees of success.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
21 Mar. 2026
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Legendary Asian filmmaker Peter Chan Ho-sun issued a stark warning about artificial intelligence at a Hong Kong FilMart co-production panel, predicting that the technology poses an existential threat not to art-house cinema but to the commercial blockbuster.—
Marcus Lim,
Variety,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Anticipating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anticipating. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
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