- past participle of anticipate.
- past tense form of anticipate.
anticipated
Americanadjective
-
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
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of anticipated
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.
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.
Repairs “are anticipated to continue into this week,” Los Angeles Department of Water and Power officials said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
The company expects content expenses to increase 10% for the full year, although revenue is anticipated to grow more quickly, at a 13% to 14% clip.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026
The world number 18 anticipated the US Open at Shinnecock Hills would be his final major of the year, with his wife Caroline expecting their second child on 14 July.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Stripping out certain one-time items, adjusted per-share earnings were 47 cents, ahead of the 46 cents anticipated by analysts, according to FactSet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
As the newly reigning United States Open Champion, and a participant in the Rosenwald the previous year, Bobby had anticipated getting this invitation for the 1957 tournament.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
