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”; cf. pre- ( def. ); see science ( def. )

Explanation

To be prescient is to have foresight or foreknowledge. We can use this word to describe people themselves, or what they say or do at a given moment. You probably know that the Latin prefix pre- means "before," so you might be able to figure out that the word prescient, from the verb praescire, means to "know beforehand." People like economists, sports commentators, and political analysts often get tagged with this word, because it's part of their job to sift through the data and make predictions — and sometimes they get it right. And when they're not just lucky, we might say they're prescient.

Example Sentences

Prescient as Jerry Jones was on that day at training camp, even he couldn’t have predicted this.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 12, 2026

Prescient as can be, Thomas said he’d prepared one old-fashioned phone of the sort Horne used in each end zone.

From Washington Times • Nov. 5, 2018

Prescient readers might catch sounds here and there of the drama that lies ahead, but everyone else will probably jump out of this slow-moving plot before it reaches the main event.

From Washington Post • Feb. 27, 2018

Jerry Irvine, the chief information officer of Prescient Solutions, puts it bluntly: “Do not use public Wi-Fi. Do not configure Wi-Fi networks or Bluetooth to automatically connect to your device.”

From Seattle Times • Jan. 6, 2017

Prescient in the changes of the season, they have been the first to go.

From Personal Memoirs of a Residence of Thirty Years with the Indian Tribes on the American Frontiers by Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe

Related Words

• farsighted