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Synonyms

anticipation

American  
[an-tis-uh-pey-shuhn] / ænˌtɪs əˈpeɪ ʃən /

noun

  1. the act of anticipating or the state of being anticipated.

  2. realization in advance; foretaste.

  3. expectation or hope.

  4. previous notion; slight previous impression.

  5. intuition, foreknowledge, or prescience.

  6. Law. a premature withdrawal or assignment of money from a trust estate.

  7. Music. a tone introduced in advance of its harmony so that it sounds against the preceding chord.


anticipation British  
/ ænˌtɪsɪˈpeɪʃən /

noun

  1. the act of anticipating; expectation, premonition, or foresight

  2. the act of taking or dealing with funds before they are legally available or due

  3. music an unstressed, usually short note introduced before a downbeat and harmonically related to the chord immediately following it Compare suspension

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • nonanticipation noun

Etymology

Origin of anticipation

First recorded in 1540–50; from Middle French, from Latin anticipātiōn-, stem of anticipātiō “innate notion, preconception,” from anticipāt(us) “taken before, anticipated” (past participle of anticipāre “to take before”; anticipate ) + -iō -ion

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.

The company invested in developing TPUs years ago in anticipation of needing significant computing power.

From The Wall Street Journal

“For me mentally, and for a lot of guys here, you get into these rooms with these coaches, and they can build up the moment, build up the anticipation,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

Those marketing campaigns go beyond social media posts to keep anticipation at a fever pitch and actively engage the fandom while also attracting new viewers.

From Los Angeles Times

Canadian Natural Resources stock was down 6.1% on Monday in anticipation of that dynamic.

From Barron's

“There’s been a bull market in these bonds in anticipation there will be a regime change,” he said.

From MarketWatch