prescient

[ presh-uhnt, ‑ee-uhntpree-shuhnt, ‑shee-uhnt ]

adjective

1. having prescience, or knowledge of things or events before they exist or happen; having foresight:

   The prescient economist was one of the few to see the financial collapse coming.

Other Words From

• pre·scient·ly adverb
• non·pre·sci·ent adjective
• non·pre·sci·ent·ly adverb
• un·pre·scient adjective
• un·pre·scient·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of prescient¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Old French, from Latin praesciēns (stem praescient- ), present participle of praescīre “to know beforehand,” equivalent to prae- “before” + scīre “to know”; pre- ( def ); science ( def )

Example Sentences

As increasingly harsh restrictions on women get enacted in red states — bounty laws allowing any interested person to sue women for having abortions, restrictions on travel from anti-abortion states to obtain abortions, the threat of prosecutions of women who experienced miscarriages, and more — her words seem increasingly prescient.

From Los Angeles Times

Sinwar proved prescient in his mistrust of any electronic devices – which were used as a devastating weapon last month against operatives of Hezbollah.

From Los Angeles Times

In the decade since the vote, that has proved prescient.

From BBC

For a while, they looked prescient.

From Slate

But most naggingly, as fashioned by Reitman and screenwriter Gil Kenan, this tribute is all too prescient about its countdown to history: Much of the dialogue is of the “You’re going down as one of the greats” variety.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• farsighted