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.

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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

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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

There was great anticipation surrounding a political heavyweight and whether she’d jump into the race.

From Los Angeles Times

By the time the last BTS member ended his conscription last June, anticipation of the group’s return was running high.

From The Wall Street Journal

FedEx blew away quarterly earnings expectations and raised its full-year outlook, in anticipation of higher sales and profits despite soaring oil prices and global shipping disruptions caused by the Iran war.

From Barron's

And shares in the band's record company, HYBE, have soared in anticipation of the release.

From BBC

I endowed that word “all” with special meaning, and pressed dresses and packed trunks in a delirium of anticipation.

From Literature

Related Words

• apprehension
• hope
• joy
• prospect