anticipate
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
to imagine that something will happen and take action to be ready for it.
to foresee a future event and take preparatory action. Transitive; often takes a direct object or a 'that' clause.
Simple“The shop owners anticipate a busy weekend, so they have ordered extra stock.”
In context“Economists anticipate that the central bank will raise interest rates in response to the latest inflation data, prompting investors to adjust their portfolios accordingly.”
PitfallWe anticipate to finish the project by Friday. We anticipate finishing the project by Friday.When followed by another verb, anticipate takes the -ing form, not the infinitive with 'to'.
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
to wait for something with excitement or pleasure.
to look forward to an event with a degree of pleasure or excitement.
Simple“The children are eagerly anticipating their first trip to the beach.”
In context“Fans have been anticipating the sequel for years, creating a level of hype that the studio is struggling to manage.”
- 03 C1 Advanced
to do something before someone else can do it, often to stop them.
to act in advance of another to prevent or check their intended action.
Simple“The goalkeeper anticipated the striker's move and blocked the shot.”
In context“By launching their own version of the software early, the company managed to anticipate their competitor's market entry and secure a dominant position.”
“A key advantage of weighted funding is that it makes it easier for districts to anticipate future revenues and plan their budgets.”
“If we are to improve our capacity for anticipating, preventing and responding to the next pandemic, several things must happen.”
Borrowed from Latin anticipātus, perfect passive participle of anticipō (“to anticipate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from ante- (“before”), + capiō (“to take”, cip- when prefixed) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). See capable.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.