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

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.

Spirit’s cheap fares meant she could visit him more than anticipated.

From MarketWatch • May 6, 2026

Callais no less shocking and appalling for having been anticipated.

From Salon • May 6, 2026

The company—a bellwether for the U.K. retail sector—logged a 6.2% increase in full-price sales, better than the 4% rise anticipated.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

And last month he unveiled his production of “Death of a Salesman,” perhaps the most anticipated opening in the April crush before the Tony Award eligibility cut-off date.

From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026

“To be the bearer of such joyfully anticipated correspondence! To bring warm greetings from distant friends and deliver long-awaited news of family...long-awaited...news...family...”

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

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