foresee
Americanverb (used with object)
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foresees,
present (3rd person singular)
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foresaw,
past
-
foreseen,
past participle
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foreseeing
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
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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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:
McVay has said in the last few weeks that he did not foresee the Rams being active before Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2026
"Of course there are challenges up ahead that I can't foresee that come with age. But along this journey there have been so many pre-conceived ideas like that your reaction time drops off," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
The software can analyze airline schedules and factors such as weather, airport runway capacity and operational constraints to predict air-traffic flows and foresee potential conflicts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
He failed to foresee the return to form of small-cap stocks in the U.S.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
If he regains it, your valour is vain, and his victory will be swift and complete: so complete that none can foresee the end of it while this world lasts.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Even Dan Ives, the colorfully dressed tech bull, foresees a less valuable Nvidia ahead.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 12, 2026
He also foresees her consolidating some departments, such as the Street Services repaving division under the city’s transportation department, and directing city departments to implement Measure HLA.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
That foresees a world of disrupted trade through tariffs and conflicts over chokepoints, more costly onshoring and less immigration, while political systems test the limits of spending to fund their militaries.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 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
“Mr. Curtain foresees a ‘call to greater duty’ in the near future.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
James Wilson foresaw a country more egalitarian and more democratic than his contemporaries dared imagine.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
Ireland said its new draft -- which used 2025 prices -- foresaw an overall cut on the earlier proposal of 141 billion euros, or 8 percent overall.
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2026
At the start of the season nobody foresaw much, if any, of this.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
The signers of the Declaration of Independence never foresaw a World Cup, much less an American World Cup team.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026
I think that already he foresaw his livelihood being wrested from him, for he salted and tanned his own skins, making them into chaplis for those in the village who wore them.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
Hoovering up gobs of information, analyzing data without external constraints, and addressing complex problems on a purely pragmatic, results-oriented basis allow AI to offer insights and strategies that its human creators haven’t foreseen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 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
“I had not foreseen this,” Gwydion murmured, when Taran had finished.
From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander
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
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
In his article, Mr Wallace says he thinks Mr Netanyahu feels "shame" for not foreseeing the deadly attacks - especially as "someone who presented himself as a security hawk and tough guy".
From BBC ● Dec. 18, 2023
Already my mother would admit to foreseeing herself in her own mother, a woman grown old, bald and bowlegged, after a hard lifetime of working.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
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