Synonyms of foresee

foresee

verb

fȯr-ˈsē 

as in to anticipate

to realize or know about beforehand

a freak accident that no one could possibly have foreseen

Synonyms & Similar Words

• anticipate
• predict
• divine
• fear
• envision
• foreknow
• foretell
• envisage
• prevision
• presage
• forecast
• visualize
• perceive
• prognosticate
• foreshadow
• prophesy
• forefeel
• prefigure
• dread
• forewarn
• augur
• alert
• caution
• discern
• preview
• apprehend
• foretoken
• descry

Synonym Chooser

How is the word foresee different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of foresee are anticipate, divine, and foreknow. While all these words 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

When could anticipate be used to replace foresee?

Although the words anticipate and foresee have much in common, anticipate implies taking action about or responding emotionally to something before it happens.

the waiter anticipated our every need

How are the words divine and foresee related?

Divine adds to foresee the suggestion of exceptional wisdom or discernment.

was able to divine Europe's rapid recovery from the war

When is it sensible to use foreknow instead of foresee?

The synonyms foreknow and foresee are sometimes interchangeable, but foreknow usually implies supernatural assistance, as through revelation.

if only we could foreknow our own destinies

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of foresee

The storms are foreseen to bring wind gusts of up to 60 mph and quarter-sized hail (1 inch). — Nc Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 8 July 2026

The accelerating rotation is fast enough, however, that timekeepers foresee the need for the first ever negative leap second—which could cause unknown and potentially catastrophic infrastructure problems. — Emma Gometz, Scientific American, 8 July 2026

By way of example, Bäte notes that Allianz did not fully foresee the speed with which interest rates rose after Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine in 2022. — Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 3 July 2026

The framers couldn’t have foreseen the technological revolutions that would follow, from global electrification to the internet and artificial intelligence. — Ashok N. Srivastava, Fortune, 3 July 2026