Anticipate
verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 To act before (someone), especially to prevent an action. transitive
"c. 1824 (written, published in 1891) Robert Hall, Fragment on Popery When two parties, each formidable for their numbers, and the weight of their influence and property, are animated by an equal degree of zeal, it is natural to anticipate the final success of that which possesses the most inherent strength."
- 2 be a forerunner of or occur earlier than wordnet
- 3 To take up or introduce (something) prematurely. transitive
"The advocate plans to anticipate a part of her argument."
- 4 regard something as probable or likely wordnet
- 5 To know of (something) before it happens; to expect. transitive
"to anticipate the pleasures of a visit"
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 realize beforehand wordnet
- 7 To eagerly wait for (something) transitive
"Little Johnny started to anticipate the arrival of Santa Claus a week before Christmas."
- 8 make a prediction about; tell in advance wordnet
- 9 be excited or anxious about wordnet
- 10 act in advance of; deal with ahead of time wordnet
Example
More examples"What results do you anticipate?"
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin anticipātus, perfect passive participle of anticipō (“to anticipate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from ante- (“before”), + capiō (“to take”, cip- when prefixed) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). See capable.
Related phrases
More for "anticipate"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.