Synonyms for anticipation
Most common
All synonyms
Noun
1. Foreboding
foreboding, prediction, presentiment, foresight, forethought, forecast, provision, precaution, calculation, prevision, prescience, prudence
Other
expectation, apprehension, contemplation, prospect, hope, foreseeing, expectancy, electricity, prevention dated, expectingness rare
Definitions
- n. 1
The act of anticipating, taking up, placing, or considering something beforehand, or before the proper time in natural order.
Often the anticipation of a shot is worse than the pain of the stick.
Related words
- Word family
- anticipationism anticipate anticipator anticipatory
Forms
- Plural
- anticipations → forebodings, predictions, presentiments, foresights…
Choose the right word
Expectation may be either of good or evil; presentiment almost always, apprehension and foreboding always, of evil; anticipation and antepast, commonly of good. Thus, we speak of the pleasures of anticipation.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- foreboding Despite her foreboding, Mary entered the cellar.
- presentiment I had a presentiment that you would come this evening.
- prospect Ukrainians face the prospect of a drawn-out war.
- expectation Sorry to say, that expectation was ill-founded.
- contemplation A trivial problem doesn't require long contemplation.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| anticipation | rising | |
| foreboding | rising | |
| presentiment | rising | |
| prevision | falling | |
| prospect | steady | |
| expectation | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- hope1
- 8 letters
- forecast2, prospect2, prudence2
- 9 letters
- provision3, foresight2, prevision
- 10 letters
- prevention3, prediction3, expectancy4, precaution3, foreboding3, foreseeing3, prescience3
- 11 letters
- electricity5, expectation4, calculation4, forethought2
- 12 letters
- apprehension4, presentiment
- 13 letters
- contemplation4, expectingness
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (forecast2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- anticipation
- Italiano
- anticipazione
- Español
- anticipación
- Deutsch
- Antizipation
- Català
- anticipació