anticipate definition | Dictionary.com

an⋅tic⋅i⋅pate

[an-tis-uh-peyt]

verb (used with object), -pat⋅ed, -pat⋅ing.

1.	to realize beforehand; foretaste or foresee: to anticipate pleasure.

2.	to expect; look forward to; be sure of: to anticipate a favorable decision.

3.	to perform (an action) before another has had time to act.

4.	to answer (a question), obey (a command), or satisfy (a request) before it is made: He anticipated each of my orders.

5.	to nullify, prevent, or forestall by taking countermeasures in advance: to anticipate a military attack.

6.	to consider or mention before the proper time: to anticipate more difficult questions.

7.	to be before (another) in doing, thinking, achieving, etc.: Many modern inventions were anticipated by Leonardo da Vinci.

Finance.

a.	to expend (funds) before they are legitimately available for use.

b.	to discharge (an obligation) before it is due.

–verb (used without object)

9.	to think, speak, act, or feel an emotional response in advance.

Origin:
1525–35; < L anticipātus taken before, anticipated (ptp. of anticipāre), equiv. to anti- (var. of ante- ante- ) + -cip- (comb. form of capere to take) + -ātus -ate ¹

Related forms:

an⋅tic⋅i⋅pat⋅a⋅ble, adjective

an⋅tic⋅i⋅pa⋅tor, noun

Synonyms:
1. See expect. 5. preclude, obviate.

Usage note:
Despite claims that anticipate should only be used to mean “to perform (an action) or respond to (a question, etc.) in advance” or “to forestall,” it has been used widely since the 18th century as a synonym for expect, often with an implication of pleasure: We anticipate a large turnout at the next meeting. This use is standard in all types of speech and writing.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To anticipate

an·tic·i·pate (ān-tĭs'ə-pāt')

v. an·tic·i·pat·ed, an·tic·i·pat·ing, an·tic·i·pates

v. tr.

To feel or realize beforehand; foresee: hadn't anticipated the crowds at the zoo.
To look forward to, especially with pleasure; expect: anticipated a pleasant hike in the country.
To deal with beforehand; act so as to mitigate, nullify, or prevent: anticipated the storm by boarding up the windows. See Synonyms at expect.
To cause to happen in advance; accelerate.
To use in advance, as income not yet available.
To pay (a debt) before it is due.

v. intr.
To think, speak, or write about a matter in advance.

[Latin anticipāre, anticipāt-, to take before : ante-, ante- + capere, to take; see kap- in Indo-European roots.]
an·tic'i·pat'a·ble adj., an·tic'i·pa'tor n., an·tic'i·pa·to'ry (-pə-tôr'ē, -tōr'ē) adj.

Usage Note: Some people hold that anticipate is improperly used as a simple synonym for expect; they would restrict its use to situations in which advance action is taken either to forestall (anticipate her opponent's next move) or to fulfill (anticipate my desires). In earlier surveys, however, a majority of the Usage Panel accepted the use of anticipate to mean "to feel or to realize beforehand" and "to look forward to." The word unanticipated, however, is not established as a synonym for unexpected. Thus 77 percent of the Usage Panel rejected the sentence They always set aside a little extra food for unanticipated guests, inasmuch as guests for whom advance provision has been made cannot be said to be unanticipated, though they may very well be unexpected.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Anticipate

An*tic"i*pate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Anticipated; p. pr. & vb. n. Anticipating.] [L. anticipatus, p. p. of anticipare to anticipate; ante + capere to make. See Capable.]

1. To be before in doing; to do or take before another; to preclude or prevent by prior action.

To anticipate and prevent the duke's purpose. --R. Hall.

He would probably have died by the hand of the executioner, if indeed the executioner had not been anticipated by the populace. --Macaulay.

2. To take up or introduce beforehand, or before the proper or normal time; to cause to occur earlier or prematurely; as, the advocate has anticipated a part of his argument.

3. To foresee (a wish, command, etc.) and do beforehand that which will be desired.

4. To foretaste or foresee; to have a previous view or impression of; as, to anticipate the pleasures of a visit; to anticipate the evils of life.

Syn: To prevent; obviate; preclude; forestall; expect.

Usage: To Anticipate, Expect. These words, as here compared, agree in regarding some future event as about to take place. Expect is the stringer. It supposes some ground or reason in the mind for considering the event as likely to happen. Anticipate is, literally, to take beforehand, and here denotes simply to take into the mind as conception of the future. Hence, to say, "I did not anticipate a refusal," expresses something less definite and strong than to say, " did not expect it." Still, anticipate is a convenient word to be interchanged with expect in cases where the thought will allow.

Good with bad Expect to hear; supernal grace contending With sinfulness of men. --Milton.

I would not anticipate the relish of any happiness, nor feel the weight of any misery, before it actually arrives. --Spectator.

Timid men were anticipating another civil war. --Macaulay.

Language Translation for : anticipate

Spanish: esperar, contar con,

German: erwarten,

Japanese: 予想する

More Translations »

anticipate

1534, "accelerate," from L. anticipatus, pp. of anticipare "take (care of) ahead of time," from ante "before" (see ante) + capere "to take" (see capable). Used in the sense of "expect, look forward to" since 1749, but anticipate has an element of "prepare for, forestall" that should prevent its being used as a synonym for expect.

Main Entry: an·tic·i·pate
Pronunciation: an-'ti-s&-"pAt
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: -pat·ed; -pat·ing
1 : to bar or invalidate (a patent) by anticipation anticipated by the Beilstein reference —Misani v. Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation, 210 Atlantic Reporter, Second Series 609 (1965)>
2 : to negate the novelty of (an invention) by its appearance in prior art anticipated a variable light makeup mirror —Wilson v. Bristol-Myers Company, 503 New York Supplement Reporter, Second Series 334 (1986)>

Main Entry: an·tic·i·pate
Pronunciation: an-'tis-&-"pAt
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: -pat·ed; -pat·ing
transitive senses
: to give advance thought to anticipate intransitive senses
: to come before the expected time —used especially of medicalsymptoms

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