Synonyms

anticipated

American

[an-tis-uh-pey-tid] / ænˈtɪs əˌpeɪ tɪd /

adjective

predicted, foreseen, or expected.

New, more efficient heating equipment will lower your energy bills, and the installment payments are calculated so that they can be offset by the anticipated energy savings.
looked forward to.

The hotly anticipated sequel is set to be released on November 14.

verb

the simple past tense and past participle of anticipate.

Other Word Forms

unanticipated adjective
well-anticipated adjective

Etymology

Origin of anticipated

anticipate ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Explanation

If you've ever waited hopefully for an event to happen, then you know when something is anticipated. A newscaster calling out the winning numbers of your lottery ticket might be highly anticipated. Anticipated generally came with a little bit of hope and a little bit of anxiety. If getting into college is an anticipated moment, you may feel butterflies in your stomach, even as you imagine yourself strolling across the perfectly manicured campus lawns. Anticipated can also mean that you expected something to happen and that you were therefore prepared for it. If a difficult French test is anticipated, you may have baked your teacher cookies to sweeten her up — or maybe you studied.

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Vocabulary lists containing anticipated

“About Edward Jenner” from the Jenner Institute

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"The Hunger Games" Vocabulary from Chapter 24

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The Meaning of Maggie

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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.

While it’s not uncommon for a studio to burn money promoting a highly anticipated sequel, seeing these resources allocated to a property like “The Devil Wears Prada” is somewhat unusual.

From Salon • Apr. 20, 2026

Tuczemskyi, who was out of the country at the time of the incident, said her death had taken its toll on the family and anticipated it would affect Autumn for years to come.

From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026

Autoliv said the first quarter turned out better than it had anticipated, with strong sales in March.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

The contest comes after a highly anticipated Easter weekend hatching watched live by the eagles’ legion of social media followers.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026

It was dark backstage, darker than she’d anticipated.

From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023