as in watchful
having or showing signs of eagerly awaiting something
couldn't control his anticipatory excitement on Christmas morning
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of anticipatory
Didion’s book illuminated anticipatory grief and gave me language for my experience.
—
Literary Hub, 16 Dec. 2025
Service is flawless and anticipatory—within a day or two, staff address hotel guests by name, remembering coffee and cocktail preferences during meals.
—Angelina Villa-Clarke, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Nov. 2025
Limited strikes can generate anticipatory displacement—families in border and coastal states who were undecided about leaving decide not to wait.
—Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Nov. 2025
As Sportico detailed, Pasadena and the RBOC sued UCLA a couple of weeks ago for breach of contract and anticipatory repudiation.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 11 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for anticipatory
Literary Hub, 16 Dec. 2025
Service is flawless and anticipatory—within a day or two, staff address hotel guests by name, remembering coffee and cocktail preferences during meals.
—Angelina Villa-Clarke, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Nov. 2025
Limited strikes can generate anticipatory displacement—families in border and coastal states who were undecided about leaving decide not to wait.
—Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Nov. 2025
As Sportico detailed, Pasadena and the RBOC sued UCLA a couple of weeks ago for breach of contract and anticipatory repudiation.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 11 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for anticipatory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anticipatory
Adjective
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The service Staff are kind but watchful, and always at the ready.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
21 Feb. 2026
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Officials are also asking everyone to keep a watchful eye out for sick or dead birds.—
Joe Brandt,
CBS News,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Advertisement Get comfortable with silence A moment of silence can feel like an eternity, especially when the mic is in your hands and a sea of expectant eyes are staring right at you.—
Angela Haupt,
Time,
20 Feb. 2026
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On weekends for more than five years, volunteers at the East Plano Islamic Center have braved wind, cold and, recently, heckling protesters to pass out boxes of food to a long line of expectant cars.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The pact, part of a realignment of MLB’s sports-rights relationships gives ESPN purview over thousands of games that are made available to fans outside a specific home team’s market — widely seen as some of the most passionate and enthusiastic among followers of the national pastime.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
20 Feb. 2026
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That’s why the Fed’s minutes are being interpreted by many this morning as being relatively hawkish—meaning that the Federal Open Market Committee is less enthusiastic about cutting interest rates further.—
Jim Edwards,
Fortune,
19 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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And eager to show his stuff to Team Puerto Rico in the upcoming World Baseball Classic.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
25 Feb. 2026
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Martha Stewart hosted a luncheon at Joe’s Stone Crab, Italian celebrity butcher Dario Cecchini tossed slabs of beef into an eager dinner crowd, and Ray reprised her Burger Bash, where everything from Kool-Aid pickles to foie gras adorned smashed wagyu patties on potato buns.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
24 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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By Phillip Reese | KFF Health News After a grueling year of chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation to treat breast cancer, Sadia Zapp was anxious — not the manageable hum that had long been part of her life, but something deeper, more distracting.—
KFF Health News,
Oc Register,
23 Feb. 2026
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After a grueling year of chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation to treat breast cancer, Sadia Zapp was anxious — not the manageable hum that had long been part of her life, but something deeper, more distracting.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
23 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Anticipatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anticipatory. Accessed 27 Feb. 2026.
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