anticipate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to realize beforehand; foretaste or foresee.
to anticipate pleasure.
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to expect; look forward to; be sure of.
to anticipate a favorable decision.
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to perform (an action) before another has had time to act.
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to answer (a question), obey (a command), or satisfy (a request) before it is made.
He anticipated each of my orders.
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to nullify, prevent, or forestall by taking countermeasures in advance.
to anticipate a military attack.
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to consider or mention before the proper time.
to anticipate more difficult questions.
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to be before (another) in doing, thinking, achieving, etc..
Many modern inventions were anticipated by Leonardo da Vinci.
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Finance.
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to expend (funds) before they are legitimately available for use.
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to discharge (an obligation) before it is due.
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verb (used without object)
verb
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(may take a clause as object) to foresee and act in advance of
he anticipated the fall in value by selling early
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to thwart by acting in advance of; forestall
I anticipated his punch by moving out of reach
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(also intr) to mention (something) before its proper time
don't anticipate the climax of the story
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(may take a clause as object) to regard as likely; expect; foresee
he anticipated that it would happen
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to make use of in advance of possession
he anticipated his salary in buying a house
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to pay (a bill, etc) before it falls due
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to cause to happen sooner
the spread of nationalism anticipated the decline of the Empire
Usage
Despite claims that anticipate should only be used to mean “to perform (an action) or respond to (a question, etc.) in advance” or “to forestall,” it has been used widely since the 18th century as a synonym for expect, often with an implication of pleasure: We anticipate a large turnout at the next meeting. This use is standard in all types of speech and writing.
The use of anticipate to mean expect should be avoided
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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anticipatornoun
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preanticipateverb (used with object)
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anticipatableadjective
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anticipatoryadjective
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anticipatorilyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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anticipatesimple
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anticipatessimple
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have anticipatedperfect
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has anticipatedperfect
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am anticipatingprogressive
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are anticipatingprogressive
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is anticipatingprogressive
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have been anticipatingperfect progressive
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has been anticipatingperfect progressive
Past
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anticipatedsimple
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had anticipatedperfect
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was anticipatingprogressive
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were anticipatingprogressive
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had been anticipatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of anticipate
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin anticipātus “taken before, anticipated,” past participle of anticipāre, “to take before,” equivalent to anti- (variant of ante- ante- ( def. ) ) + -cipāre (combining form of capere “to take”)
Explanation
To anticipate something is to be expecting it. Your dog might be waiting by the door, anticipating his next walk or squirrel chase. "Anticipating something" also often implies that you are preparing to take some action because of your expectations — like when you anticipate your chess opponent's next move and plan a counterattack. The word anticipate can also mean "to come beforehand" — as in a certain musical trend anticipating another.
Vocabulary lists containing anticipate
100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 8
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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.
See Examples For:
“At this point, only the Supreme Court can bring uniformity and settle this question once and for all. I anticipate that it will do so soon,” Judge Diane S. Sykes wrote in her dissent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
If you don’t anticipate needing the money for several years, consider a diversified bond fund, a balanced stock-and-bond fund or even investing a portion of it in the stock market.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
They haven’t given us a lot of detail about the changes—for security reasons—but I anticipate there will be A LOT more security.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Instead of responding only after a treatment fails, doctors may eventually be able to anticipate resistance and act before the tumor regains strength.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
He threw out a low kick, just slow enough for her to anticipate, and without any force behind it.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
Apple anticipates a 47% to 48% gross margin for the September quarter, with about 1 percentage point of positive contribution from tariff refunds.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
The German sportswear group said Thursday that it now anticipates an increase in constant-currency revenue between 9% and 10%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Lynch said the team anticipates Shanahan will be back well before the season opener Sept. 11 in Australia against the Rams.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
For the month’s consumer sentiment, it anticipates a possible stall in growth, owing to rising fuel prices.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
The Phaistos disk anticipates humanity’s next efforts at printing, which similarly used cut type or blocks but applied them to paper with ink, not to clay without ink.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Travers said Owen "never anticipated" the damage that would be done to Jaguar Land Rover by the negative publicity resulting from his story.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
Did Abdul-Mateen have Simon-like jitters signing up for one of this fall’s most highly anticipated movies?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
In mid-July, two OpenAI models undergoing testing left their confined environment -- a scenario the developers had not anticipated -- and ventured onto the internet, where they attacked Hugging Face, an AI model-hosting platform.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
Instead of fixing parts of the kitchen, a full remodel has kept it out of commission far longer than they anticipated.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
For once, she happily anticipated the chaos, the noise, the mess.
From "Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World" by Ashley Herring Blake
Analysts tracked by FactSet are anticipating Meta to report revenue of $60.2 billion and earnings per share of $7.19.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
“We’re anticipating those waves to kind of stay elevated through at least Tuesday.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
A classic one - are you anticipating that doing this task is going to be very difficult, challenging or stressful?
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
IBM said it expects infrastructure revenue to fall 7%, after previously anticipating a low-single-digit decline.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
She had become unmoored from the present, loose and untethered, her mind rolling back into her memories, rolling forward into the future, anticipating, and then dropping again into this torturous, unbearable present.
From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby
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.
