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Anticipator

4 dictionary results for: anticipator

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

an·tic·i·pate

[an-tis-uh-peyt] Pronunciation Key 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 -ate¹

]

—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 (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

an·tic·i·pate   (ān-tĭs'ə-pāt') Pronunciation Key
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.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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