MEANING
To anticipate or recognize that something may happen before it occurs.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- foresee a difficulty
- foresee consequences
On the page
She foresaw the difficulty but not the form it would take.
He had foreseen the objection and left its answer in the margin.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- foresee
- Past tense
- foresaw
- Past participle
- foreseen
- Present participle
- foreseeing
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- foresee
- Present continuous
- am/is/are foreseeing
- Present perfect
- have/has foreseen
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been foreseeing
- Past
- foresaw
- Past continuous
- was/were foreseeing
- Past perfect
- had foreseen
- Past perfect continuous
- had been foreseeing
- Future
- will foresee
- Future continuous
- will be foreseeing
- Future perfect
- will have foreseen
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been foreseeing
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary. Forms: foresee; foresees; foresaw; foreseen; foreseeing Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Third-person singular: foresees.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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