anticipate
Americanverb (used with object)
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anticipates,
present (3rd person singular)
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anticipated,
past participle, past
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anticipating
present participle
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to realize beforehand; foretaste or foresee.
to anticipate pleasure.
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to expect; look forward to; be sure of.
to anticipate a favorable decision.
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to perform (an action) before another has had time to act.
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to answer (a question), obey (a command), or satisfy (a request) before it is made.
He anticipated each of my orders.
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to nullify, prevent, or forestall by taking countermeasures in advance.
to anticipate a military attack.
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to consider or mention before the proper time.
to anticipate more difficult questions.
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to be before (another) in doing, thinking, achieving, etc..
Many modern inventions were anticipated by Leonardo da Vinci.
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Finance.
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to expend (funds) before they are legitimately available for use.
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to discharge (an obligation) before it is due.
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verb (used without object)
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anticipates,
present (3rd person singular)
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anticipated,
past participle, past
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anticipating
present participle
verb
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(may take a clause as object) to foresee and act in advance of
he anticipated the fall in value by selling early
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to thwart by acting in advance of; forestall
I anticipated his punch by moving out of reach
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(also intr) to mention (something) before its proper time
don't anticipate the climax of the story
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(may take a clause as object) to regard as likely; expect; foresee
he anticipated that it would happen
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to make use of in advance of possession
he anticipated his salary in buying a house
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to pay (a bill, etc) before it falls due
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to cause to happen sooner
the spread of nationalism anticipated the decline of the Empire
Usage
Despite claims that anticipate should only be used to mean “to perform (an action) or respond to (a question, etc.) in advance” or “to forestall,” it has been used widely since the 18th century as a synonym for expect, often with an implication of pleasure: We anticipate a large turnout at the next meeting. This use is standard in all types of speech and writing.
The use of anticipate to mean expect should be avoided
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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anticipatornoun
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preanticipateverb (used with object)
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anticipatableadjective
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anticipatoryadjective
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anticipatorilyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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anticipatesimple
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anticipatessimple
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have anticipatedperfect
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has anticipatedperfect
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am anticipatingprogressive
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are anticipatingprogressive
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is anticipatingprogressive
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have been anticipatingperfect progressive
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has been anticipatingperfect progressive
Past
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anticipatedsimple
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had anticipatedperfect
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was anticipatingprogressive
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were anticipatingprogressive
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had been anticipatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of anticipate
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin anticipātus “taken before, anticipated,” past participle of anticipāre, “to take before,” equivalent to anti- (variant of ante- ante- ( def. ) ) + -cipāre (combining form of capere “to take”)
Explanation
To anticipate something is to be expecting it. Your dog might be waiting by the door, anticipating his next walk or squirrel chase. "Anticipating something" also often implies that you are preparing to take some action because of your expectations — like when you anticipate your chess opponent's next move and plan a counterattack. The word anticipate can also mean "to come beforehand" — as in a certain musical trend anticipating another.
Vocabulary lists containing anticipate
100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 8
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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.
See Examples For:
Engineers also added "dynamic slip tables" to its flight software, allowing the rover to better anticipate how much its wheels might slip on different surfaces.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2026
"I would anticipate they block off the time while they go through all these motions and the DA's office figures out what it wants to do."
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
The best passing duos look like they have telepathic powers with the ability to anticipate each other’s next move.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2026
The same capabilities that make A.I. agents useful for complicated business or technical functions make them freakishly good at getting around whatever constraints we place on them, in ways we don’t anticipate.
From Slate ● Oct. 25, 2026
Burnham tried to anticipate every conceivable threat to the fair.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
The report anticipates that tighter credit and liquidity next year will force decelerating AI capex, more credit events and the Federal Reserve being forced to adopt a more dovish approach.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026
Lilly has already raised its outlook twice this year, starting the year with an outlook that anticipates revenue between $80 billion and $83 billion in 2026.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
The company, which also owns Maggiano’s Little Italy, on Wednesday said it now anticipates fiscal 2027 adjusted earnings of $13.30 to $13.90 a share on revenue of $6.23 billion to $6.33 billion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
GS anticipates modest measures to contain primary spending growth, and increases to an already high tax burden.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
In Cuban son, however, the melody is elastic in the other direction: it anticipates the main beat.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Anthropic reports a $567 million operating loss in the third quarter ahead of its highly anticipated initial public offering.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
Analysts were expecting negative free cash flow for that period, meaning they anticipated the company would spend more on capital expenditures and operating costs than it would generate in cash through its business.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026
Fuller believes the anticipated observations could improve scientists' understanding of the Big Bang, the early evolution of the universe, and other fundamental questions about how the cosmos developed.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2026
Sarah, from Pontypool, Torfaen, said the process since Teddy's diagnosis had been "incredibly difficult" as they were often dealing with problems they could not have anticipated.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
Colonel Aureliano Buendía was not alarmed by the coldness of the proposition but by the way in which, by a fraction of a second, it had anticipated his own thoughts.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Instead of reflecting a system that has simply stopped distinguishing between different memories, these responses might involve a brain mechanism that shifts too quickly from recognizing safety to anticipating danger.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 3, 2026
Iran and the Gulf states caught in the crossfire, meanwhile, are frenziedly stocking up on missiles and interceptors as if anticipating a return to hostilities.
From Slate ● Oct. 30, 2026
A week before the Deitch show opened, he was still anticipating what it might become.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
It is anticipating $3.46 billion to $3.52 billion in gross merchandise sales during the current fourth quarter, ahead of the $3.42 billion analysts expect.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
I climbed down, and we moved to the spot the man directed us to go, silent and stiff in our movements, each of us anticipating something awful.
From "March Forward, Girl" by Melba Pattillo Beals
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