prescience
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
- prescient adjective
- presciently adverb
Etymology
Origin of prescience
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Late Latin praescientia “foreknowledge”; equivalent to pre- + science
Explanation
Do you already know what happens tomorrow? Next week? Next year? If you can see into the future, then you have prescience. The word prescience might look like pre + science, but it really comes from the Latin word praescientia, which means "fore-knowledge" — or knowledge you know before anyone else. Don't assume it's a crystal ball kind of power that lets someone with prescience see the future. It's more like a state of mind or level of expertise that allows for excellent foresight and planning.
Vocabulary lists containing prescience
Latin Love, Vol I: sci
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100 SAT words Beginning with "P"
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The Inheritance Games
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And many are crediting his prescience in getting Chevron to stay in the country all those years.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026
I think the ABA is vindicated in its assessment, and deserves a little medal for prescience here.
From Slate • Mar. 13, 2026
If warnings of an artificial-intelligence bubble turn out to be true, Danoff’s retirement may look, in retrospect, like a final act of market prescience.
From Barron's • Jan. 27, 2026
Setting aside any bruised pride, he said there are plenty of reasons to visit the region, beyond its former political prescience.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 7, 2024
Jorge’s letter arrived that morning, as if his prescience extended even to the irregular postal service between the United States and Cuba.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
