precognition

American  

[pree-kog-nish-uhn] / ˌpri kɒgˈnɪʃ ən /

noun

1. knowledge of a future event or situation, especially through extrasensory means.

2. Scots Law.

   1. the examination of witnesses and other parties before a trial in order to supply a legal ground for prosecution.

   2. the evidence established in such an examination.

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precognition British  

/ ˌpriːkɒɡˈnɪʃən, priːˈkɒɡnɪtɪv /

noun

1. psychol the alleged ability to foresee future events See also clairvoyance clairaudience

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Other Word Forms

• precognitive adjective

Etymology

Origin of precognition

1400–50; late Middle English < Late Latin praecognitiōn-, s. of praecognitiō; pre-, cognition

Compare meaning

How does precognition compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• precognition vs. clairvoyance

Explanation

If you mysteriously know about something before it happens, that's precognition. A feeling that your mom is about to call just before your phone rings might be precognition — or maybe your mom just tends to call you hourly. Belief in precognition is considered superstitious (at least by those who don't believe in it). It falls under the category of ESP or a "sixth sense," and it comes in handy as an explanation for the phenomenon of déjà vu, that feeling of having done or said something before, and of knowing what will happen next. Precognition comes from the Latin praecognoscere, "to foreknow," from prae, "before," and cognoscere, "to get to know."

Example Sentences

The Clairvoyants perform mentalism, the branch of magic that encapsulates all things mind-reading, precognition and extrasensory perception.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 29, 2025

Today we may view that observation as something akin to informed precognition.

From Salon • Feb. 18, 2025

He had this icy calmness to him, able to read and anticipate his opponents’ moves in ways that can best be described as precognition.

From The Verge • Aug. 8, 2022

Wallace had “a level of precognition about certain things,” he adds.

From New York Times • Sep. 5, 2021

For decades, these schools, and other institutions, studied subjects as varied as precognition, telepathy, psychokinesis, energy fields, reincarnation, and mediumship.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock