Synonyms for forethought
- noun
- adjective
Most common
Synonyms by meaning
Noun
1. Caution — anticipation
caution, care, prudence, carefulness, precaution, providence, anticipation, provision, calculation, circumspection
2. Foresight — thinking beforehand or in advance, planning; prior or previous consideration
Adjective
Definitions
- n. 1
Thinking beforehand or in advance, planning; prior or previous consideration.
With a little forethought we'd have planned for this contingency and not been stuck here now.
- n. 2
Anticipation.
- adj. 1
Thought of, or planned, beforehand.
Related words
- Word family
- forethoughtful
Forms
- Plural
- forethoughts → cautions, cares, prudences, carefulnesses…
Choose the right word
Foresight and forethought prevent future evil and secure future good by timely looking forward, and acting upon what is foreseen.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- caution The soldiers headed for the frontier with caution.
- precaution As a last precaution, I put a flashlight into my pack.
- prudence It is clear that he failed for lack of prudence.
- foresight Clear foresight contributed greatly to his success.
- premeditation She did that intentionally and with premeditation.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| forethought | rising | |
| caution | steady | |
| precaution | steady | |
| prudence | steady | |
| carefulness | steady | |
| foresight | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- care1
- 7 letters
- caution2
- 8 letters
- forecast2, prudence2
- 9 letters
- provision3, foresight2
- 10 letters
- providence3, precaution3, prescience3
- 11 letters
- calculation4, carefulness3
- 12 letters
- anticipation5, premeditated5, aforethought3
- 13 letters
- premeditation5
- 14 letters
- circumspection4
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (caution2 = 2 syllables).