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; see 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

He had been solemnly pronounced, both by the Commission of Precognition and by the Estates of the Realm in full Parliament, to be the original author of the massacre.

From The History of England, from the Accession of James II — Volume 4 by Macaulay, Thomas Babington Macaulay, Baron

Precognition is the least understood of the Psi powers, and the most erratic.

From Vigorish by Berryman, John

Precognition simply says that when there are so many thousand ways an event in the future can happen, then, in one of those several thousand ways, it will.

From Talents, Incorporated by Leinster, Murray

Precognition was no part of her Talent, though, so she attributed the sensation to her surroundings, familiar from pictures but strange in reality.

From A Matter of Honor A Terran Empire novel by Wilson, Ann