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Glite Dictionary
🛡️ To prepare early 😊 To look forward 🔮 To expect 🌅 To foreshadow
to anticipate

to anticipate

293 3.7
To prepare for something before it happens
  • verb
  • /ænˈtɪsɪˌpeɪt/
translation icon : anticiparse a
  • We must anticipate the potential challenges when planning the project.
  • fail to anticipate
  • anticipate changes
  • anticipate problems

And so when I, when the ball snaps, like I'm anticipating everything, like quick, quick.

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Examples

  • In the short term, they can try to anticipate what the Fed is going to do.

  • This went on a little longer than I anticipated.

    Firewall (2006)

  • And I think we could have anticipated this much earlier.

  • Was there anything that you could have anticipated to avoid that political action?

    Academic text (2013)

  • It's just not a problem we anticipated.

    Donnie Brasco (1997)

  • Some of those things are easier to anticipate, and some have already begun to emerge.

    Academic text (2017)

  • If the students were more realistic, they could anticipate their low scores and put in more study time.

    Academic text (2012)

  • The crowd seemed to be anticipating something good.

  • We didn't anticipate the defense.

    Home Alone 3 (1997)

  • We repaired the shoulder, but it was trickier than we anticipated.

    The Iron Claw (2023)

Synonyms

to plan
vsto anticipate
∞ 1.0

To decide and arrange in advance how to do something

is about acting earlier in expectation rather than general decision making ahead
to prepare
vsto anticipate
∞ 1.0

Make something ready for use or an event

acts earlier to respond to expected events rather than only making things ready
to prepare for
vsto anticipate
487 2.8

To make yourself ready in your mind for something unpleasant or difficult

focuses on acting beforehand to handle expected events rather than only mental readiness
to premeditate
vsto anticipate
  • Formal
39 8.1

To think about and plan something before doing it, often a harmful act

means acting early in expectation, not necessarily with prior harmful intent
to predetermine
vsto anticipate
23 5.8

Decide or make a result likely before it happens

involves acting early to handle expected events rather than fixing outcomes beforehand
to prearrange
vsto anticipate
8 4.1

To plan something ahead of time

focuses on acting ahead to meet expected needs rather than just setting details
to preplan
vsto anticipate
1 4.3

To decide what to do before something happens

is about acting sooner in expectation rather than only setting steps in advance
to prespecify
vsto anticipate
1 7.8

Decide or say something before an event starts

is about acting early to cope with expectations rather than only fixing details
to preconcert
vsto anticipate
8.4

Plan something together in advance

stresses coordinated agreement in advance rather than individual early action

Antonyms

to neglect
256 3.8

Fail to care for someone or something you should look after

How Proactive

to preempt
  • US
26 6.8
to forestall
17 7.1
to anticipate
293 3.7
to prepare
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

anticipate infinitive
anticipated past
anticipated past participle
anticipating present participle
anticipates third person singular

Etymology

Anticipate comes from the Latin parts ante- 'before' and capere 'to take', giving the sense of 'taking before'. That is why anticipate can mean to prepare for or act in advance of something you expect.