foresight

American  

[fawr-sahyt, fohr-] / ˈfɔrˌsaɪt, ˈfoʊr- /

noun

• foresights
  plural

1. care or provision for the future; provident care; prudence.

2. the act or power of foreseeing; prevision; prescience.

3. an act of looking forward.

4. knowledge or insight gained by or as by looking forward; a view of the future.

   Synonyms:

   foreknowledge

5. Surveying.

   1. a sight or reading taken on a forward point.

   2. (in leveling) a rod reading on a point the elevation of which is to be determined.

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foresight British  

/ ˈfɔːˌsaɪt /

noun

1. provision for or insight into future problems, needs, etc

2. the act or ability of foreseeing

3. the act of looking forward

4. surveying a reading taken looking forwards to a new station, esp in levelling from a point of known elevation to a point the elevation of which is to be determined Compare backsight

5. the front sight on a firearm

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Synonym Usage

See prudence.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• foresightedness
  noun
• foresighted
  adjective
• foresightful
  adjective
• foresightedly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• foresights
  plural

Etymology

Origin of foresight

First recorded in 1250–1300, foresight is from the Middle English word forsight. See fore-, sight

Explanation

Use the noun foresight to describe successful planning for the future. When it starts raining hard during your long walk to school, you'll wish you had the foresight to bring an umbrella. The word foresight is made of two parts: fore, which means "before," and sight, which means "to perceive." People often perceive things with their eyes: this is vision, or sight. But vision can also describe what someone thinks will happen in the future — and foresight is planning for things before they happen.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

foresight foresights

Some in the country’s finance circles described him as the field’s version of Zhuge Liang, the third-century strategist whose reputation for uncanny foresight has endured in Chinese lore for centuries.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

But that would involve interaction with a lot of fluids, the very agent of transmission of Ebola, so Anoko reminds them how ancestors in their culture have foresight.

From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026

Now, there’s a question of hindsight versus foresight.

From Slate ● May 5, 2026

No one saw that coming when shares were spun out of GE on April 2, 2024, after Larry Culp had the foresight to break up General Electric.

From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026

Businessmen congratulated themselves on their foresight in keeping out of it.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

Most of my work deals with the next 5 years, and it’s more about pretty obvious foresights rather than ‘predictions’.

From Forbes ● Jul. 8, 2014

"You can't seem to account for them foresights," continued Mr. Teaby, putting down his tall, thin valise and letting the empty top of it fold over.

From Strangers and Wayfarers by Sarah Orne Jewett

Also with this new vision come memories and foresights.

From Stella Fregelius by Henry Rider Haggard

"How would Black, by turning in some wrong backsights and foresights, expect to delay the building of the road, even if he wanted to do it?"

From The Young Engineers in Colorado Or, At Railwood Building in Earnest by H. Irving (Harrie Irving) Hancock

He dressed and breakfasted with all the petty foresights that can mean the shaving of clearance in a tight squeeze, and got off with all the margin of time he could muster.

From A Matter of Proportion by Anne Walker

Related Words

• insight
• prudence