foresee
verb
fore·see fȯr-ˈsē 
foresaw fȯr-ˈsȯ ; foreseen fȯr-ˈsēn ; foreseeing
; foreseen fȯr-ˈsēn ; foreseeing transitive verb
: to see (something, such as a development) beforehand
He could not have foreseen the consequences of his actions.
She foresaw the company's potential and invested early on.
foreseer
fȯr-ˈsē-ər
noun -ˈsir
Synonyms
- anticipate
- divine
- forefeel
- foreknow
- prevision
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
We couldn't have foreseen the consequences of our actions. He foresees a day when all war will cease. She foresaw the company's potential and invested early on.
Recent Examples on the Web Perhaps more worrisome is the fact that many experts don’t foresee much change anytime soon. 
Andrew Joseph, STAT, 7 Aug. 2022 But this golden opportunity was challenging in ways Scully did not foresee. James Walker, The Conversation, 6 Aug. 2022 But people who understand the industry can already foresee it, and one example is fewer treatment options for desperately ill cancer patients. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 3 Aug. 2022 The Yale researchers don’t foresee the use of OrganEx to treat people anytime soon. Evan Bush, NBC News, 3 Aug. 2022 Whoever said that drastic times call for drastic measures could probably foresee a disruptor like the 2020 Covid-19 crisis. Max Hansen, Forbes, 24 June 2022 Paving the pathway to FDA approval Successfully bringing synthetic cell medicines to the market is doable only if researchers can foresee a pathway to FDA approval, which often depends on the answer to two major questions. Kira Sampson, STAT, 28 July 2022 Today, 60% of CEOs surveyed by the Conference Board foresee a recession by the end of 2023 and 55% expect inflation to stretch into next year. Kevin Kelleher, Fortune, 23 June 2022 What Ciro doesn’t foresee is the lethal enthusiasm of a gang of Latvian nationalists who view the drug operation as a symbol of Russian oppression. John Anderson, WSJ, 27 July 2021 See More
Andrew Joseph, STAT, 7 Aug. 2022 But this golden opportunity was challenging in ways Scully did not foresee. James Walker, The Conversation, 6 Aug. 2022 But people who understand the industry can already foresee it, and one example is fewer treatment options for desperately ill cancer patients. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 3 Aug. 2022 The Yale researchers don’t foresee the use of OrganEx to treat people anytime soon. Evan Bush, NBC News, 3 Aug. 2022 Whoever said that drastic times call for drastic measures could probably foresee a disruptor like the 2020 Covid-19 crisis. Max Hansen, Forbes, 24 June 2022 Paving the pathway to FDA approval Successfully bringing synthetic cell medicines to the market is doable only if researchers can foresee a pathway to FDA approval, which often depends on the answer to two major questions. Kira Sampson, STAT, 28 July 2022 Today, 60% of CEOs surveyed by the Conference Board foresee a recession by the end of 2023 and 55% expect inflation to stretch into next year. Kevin Kelleher, Fortune, 23 June 2022 What Ciro doesn’t foresee is the lethal enthusiasm of a gang of Latvian nationalists who view the drug operation as a symbol of Russian oppression. John Anderson, WSJ, 27 July 2021 See More Word History
First Known Use
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
foresee
verb
fore·see fȯr-ˈsē
foresaw
-ˈsȯ
; foreseen -ˈsēn
; foreseeing : to see or know about beforehand
I didn't foresee the accident.
Legal Definition
foresee
transitive verb
fore·see
foresaw; foreseen; foreseeing
: to be aware of the reasonable possibility of (as an occurrence or development) beforehand
foresee
verb
as in to anticipate
to realize or know about beforehand a freak accident that no one could possibly have foreseen Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- anticipate
- predict
- envision
- divine
- prevision
- fear
- foreknow
- foretell
- envisage
- presage
- prognosticate
- foreshadow
- forecast
- visualize
- prophesy
- prefigure
- forefeel
- forewarn
- perceive
- alert
- caution
- discern
- augur
- dread
- preview
- apprehend
- foretoken
- descry
Synonym Chooser
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
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
Divine adds to foresee the suggestion of exceptional wisdom or discernment.
was able to divine Europe's rapid recovery from the war
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