foresight

[ fawr-sahyt, fohr- ]

/ ˈfɔrˌsaɪt, ˈfoʊr- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR foresight ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

the act or power of foreseeing; prevision; prescience.

an act of looking forward.

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

Surveying.

a sight or reading taken on a forward point.
(in leveling) a rod reading on a point the elevation of which is to be determined.

Nearby words

foreshore, foreshorten, foreshots, foreshow, foreside, foresight, foreskin, foresleeve, forespeak, forespent, forest

Origin of foresight

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

SYNONYMS FOR foresight

1 See prudence.

4 foreknowledge.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR foresight ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsfore·sight·ed, adjectivefore·sight·ed·ly, adverbfore·sight·ed·ness, nounfore·sight·ful, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for foresight

What would McCain have done if he were president and had the foresight about the ISIS that he now claims?
The Crisis Leadership of No-Drama Obama|Jonathan Alter|June 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Natural selection is a mechanical process with no foresight, which can only blindly favor short-term gain.
Rediscovering Richard Dawkins: An Interview|J.P. O’Malley|September 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The Panglossian view of natural selection is an appealing idea to us as human beings, you argue, because brains have foresight.
Rediscovering Richard Dawkins: An Interview|J.P. O’Malley|September 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He also had the foresight to butter Stewart up to fare-thee-well.
Martha Stewart in the Dock Over Macy’s Lawsuit: ‘I Did My Time!’|Lloyd Grove|March 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST

He had the foresight to reimagine the American department store.
Martha Stewart in the Dock Over Macy’s Lawsuit: ‘I Did My Time!’|Lloyd Grove|March 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Knowing is the act, stimulated by this foresight, of securing and averting consequences.
Creative Intelligence|John Dewey, Addison W. Moore, Harold Chapman Brown, George H. Mead, Boyd H. Bode, Henry Waldgrave, Stuart James, Hayden Tufts, Horace M. Kallen
To-day his foresight could get for him what would be impossible to-morrow.
Scattergood Baines|Clarence Budington Kelland
For an empty one, you might have relied on my own foresight; and this one is very far from being empty.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 7 (of 25)|Robert Louis Stevenson
Nothing is left to chance that can be accomplished by foresight.
Sword and Pen|John Algernon Owens
Kenton, by his foresight, had secured the right and title to a large quantity of valuable land.
The Life and Times of Col. Daniel Boone, Hunter, Soldier, and Pioneer|Edward Sylvester Ellis

British Dictionary definitions for foresight

foresight

/ (ˈfɔːˌsaɪt) /

noun

provision for or insight into future problems, needs, etc

the act or ability of foreseeing

the act of looking forward

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 determinedCompare backsight

the front sight on a firearm

Derived Formsforesighted, adjectiveforesightedly, adverbforesightedness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for foresight

foresight

c.1300, from fore- + sight (n.). Cf. German Vorsicht.

foresight

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of foresight

Examples from the Web for foresight

British Dictionary definitions for foresight

foresight

noun

Word Origin and History for foresight

foresight