v., -pat·ed, -pat·ing, -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.
To think, speak, or write about a matter in advance.
[Latin anticipāre, anticipāt-, to take before : ante-, ante- + capere, to take.]
anticipatable an·tic'i·pat'a·ble adj.anticipator an·tic'i·pa'tor n.
anticipatory 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.
