prescient

American  

[presh-uhnt, ‑ee-uhnt, pree-shuhnt, ‑shee-uhnt] / ˈprɛʃ ənt, ‑i ənt, ˈpri ʃənt, ‑ʃi ənt /

adjective

1. having prescience, or knowledge of things or events before they exist or happen; having foresight.

   The prescient economist was one of the few to see the financial collapse coming.

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Other Word Forms

• nonprescient adjective
• nonpresciently adverb
• presciently adverb
• unprescient adjective
• unpresciently adverb

Etymology

Origin of prescient

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Old French, from Latin praesciēns (stem praescient- ), present participle of praescīre “to know beforehand,” equivalent to prae- “before” + scīre “to know”; pre- ( def. ); science ( def. )

Example Sentences

Late Thursday night, The Wall Street Journal published an editorial with a headline that read like a prescient sigh of relief: “The Embarrassing Truth About Tariffs.”

From Salon

Watching it now, the performance feels disturbingly prescient, offering a glimpse of the managerial mindset that would eventually reshape American media into a pure war for attention.

From Los Angeles Times

“Here Lies Love,” which opens Wednesday at the Mark Taper Forum, three years after its Broadway debut, is arriving in downtown L.A. at a prescient moment.

From Los Angeles Times

If those aren’t his priorities, Kissinger’s characterization of Bangladesh might have been prescient after all.

From The Wall Street Journal

“He has a track record of making prescient early calls.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• farsighted