foresee
Americanverb (used with object)
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foresees,
present (3rd person singular)
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foresaw,
past
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foreseen,
past participle
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foreseeing
present participle
verb (used without object)
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foresees,
present (3rd person singular)
-
foresaw,
past
-
foreseen,
past participle
-
foreseeing
present participle
verb
Usage
What does foresee mean? To foresee is to know in advance, as in With all the rain we’ve been having, it was easy to foresee that the river would overflow its banks. Foresee is different from predict or forecast because to foresee is to know, while to predict or forecast is to guess or calculate rather than to know. Sometimes, though, foresee is used as a synonym for predict to exaggerate one’s confidence in a prediction. Example: I can foresee where this is going and I want no part of it.
Synonym Usage
See predict.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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foreseernoun
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foreseeableadjective
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unforeseeingadjective
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unforeseenadjective
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well-foreseenadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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foreseesimple
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foreseessimple
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have foreseenperfect
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has foreseenperfect
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am foreseeingprogressive
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are foreseeingprogressive
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is foreseeingprogressive
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have been foreseeingperfect progressive
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has been foreseeingperfect progressive
Past
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foresawsimple
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had foreseenperfect
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was foreseeingprogressive
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were foreseeingprogressive
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had been foreseeingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of foresee
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English foresēon. See fore-, see 1
Explanation
When you foresee something, you predict or realistically envision it happening. Did you foresee your team winning the playoffs, or were you surprised? Think of foresee as “to see before.” Prophets in literature are able to foresee events that come to pass; in Greek mythology Tiresias is known for his ability to foresee the future. But foresee is not always linked to a supernatural sense. Regular people can foresee events by imagining them taking place — and sometimes we use this as a way of prevention. If you foresee yourself failing geometry if you don’t study more, you will probably hit the books.
Vocabulary lists containing foresee
Power Prefix: fore-
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Walk Two Moons
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "F"
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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:
Some large tech companies foresee a steady stream of cuts for years to come, while others say it’s still unclear how artificial intelligence will affect head counts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
A spokesperson said they did not foresee any problems with gas supply: "We have a diverse energy mix and are confident in our security of supply."
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
But they said they do foresee it boosting productivity growth, which “can help offset fiscal concerns.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026
“If I can foresee this, then I think an engineer who’s designing the product can foresee it too.”
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026
Good thing, perhaps, that one can't foresee the future.
From "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie
In its first look into 2027, the International Energy Agency said it foresees the return of an oil glut due to record investments.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 18, 2026
The agreement foresees a phased lifting of U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil exports as well as the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, something European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said should happen immediately.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
Toll Brothers expects deliveries in a range from 2,600 to 2,700 units in its third quarter and foresees an adjusted home sale gross margin of 25.25%.
From Barron's ● May 19, 2026
If Fidesz were to win those seats, he foresees a potential victory.
From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026
“Lord Voldemort foresees a moment in the near future when he will not need a spy at Hogwarts?”
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
Others pointed to lengthy investing track records when launching hedge funds or venture-capital funds; Aschenbrenner’s stature stemmed from a 165-page essay in 2024, “Situational Awareness: The Decade Ahead,” that foresaw the path of AI’s development.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
At the start of the season nobody foresaw much, if any, of this.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
Has the office served its purpose, or has it lingered one bureaucracy layered on top of a bunch of other bureaucracies, as some critics foresaw?
From Slate ● Jun. 15, 2026
But it is unlikely, as it strategised ahead of commencing the attacks on Iran, that the US fully foresaw some of these economic consequences.
From BBC ● Mar. 19, 2026
He foresaw a new day for the race.
From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin
“The report card is pretty unimpressive. We all could have foreseen that this wasn’t going to go great.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
It is, therefore, mystifying as to how they got it so wrong, as the problems could be foreseen by anyone with an understanding of F1.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
To a degree that even critics could not have foreseen a year ago, the United States struts and frets on the world stage alone.
From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026
Addressed to Burnham and the arts minister Lisa Nandy, the petition posted by activist group Good Law Project claimed Arday's death was "the direct, foreseeable and foreseen result of press harassment".
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
As he had foreseen, the track was crumbling like sand under the horse’s hooves.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
People could be forgiven for not foreseeing the earth-shattering events that were around the bend—the Depression, World War II, the birth of Elvis Presley.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 30, 2025
He is shifting Brazil exposure to longer-term bonds, foreseeing a “neutral” interest rate of 10% to 11%, eventually.
From Barron's ● Dec. 23, 2025
They all face similar pressures, but some have done better than others at foreseeing the danger and planning for it.
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2025
The A.M.A., reflecting a now bygone era perhaps more optimistic than our own, was foreseeing a continuing tide of advances in medical science that would carry people along in good health for decade after decade.
From New York Times ● Dec. 28, 2023
“Send your wife up to the wedding,” exclaimed the Doctor, foreseeing a happy solution.
From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin
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.
