anticipation

[an-tis-uh-pey-shuhn]

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

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• nonanticipation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of anticipation¹

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

It had rallied 5.1% over the past five sessions in anticipation of upbeat earnings.

Read more on MarketWatch

"We expect quarterly growth to pick up only gradually in the near term as geopolitical uncertainty persists and domestic business and consumer confidence remains subdued, including in anticipation of further tax rises," the OBR said.

Read more on BBC

And the associations with danger—and suspense, anxiety, anticipation and adrenaline, he says—are even more likely to slow, if not cure, the breakdown of brain functions caused by the disease.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Shoppers often hold off buying items in anticipation of a better deal on the day, but none of the 175 products tracked by Which? were at their cheapest price of the year on Black Friday.

Read more on BBC

There is a sense of anticipation as a member of the research team opens a large a metal cryopreservation tank where Oliver's gene edited stem cells are frozen, having been transported back from GOSH.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• apprehension 
• hope 
• joy 
• prospect