foreknow

American  

[fawr-noh, fohr-] / fɔrˈnoʊ, foʊr- /

verb (used with object)

foreknew, foreknown, foreknowing

1. to know beforehand.

   Synonyms:

   anticipate, discern, divine, foresee

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foreknow British  

/ fɔːˈnəʊ /

verb

1. (tr) to know in advance

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Other Word Forms

• foreknowable adjective
• foreknower noun
• foreknowingly adverb
• foreknowledge noun
• unforeknowable adjective
• unforeknown adjective

Etymology

Origin of foreknow

First recorded in 1400–50, foreknow is from the late Middle English word foreknowen. See fore-, know ¹

Example Sentences

Happy minds that can redeem Their engagements how they please, That no joys or hopes esteem Half so precious as their ease: Wisdom should prepare men so, As if they did all foreknow.

From Lyrics from the Song-Books of the Elizabethan Age by Bullen, A. H. (Arthur Henry)

For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first-born among many brethren.

From A Theodicy, or, Vindication of the Divine Glory by Bledsoe, Albert Taylor

But men by natural inclination seek to foreknow future events; and this belongs to divination.

From Summa Theologica, Part II-II (Secunda Secundae) Translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province by Thomas, Aquinas, Saint

Without this assumption it would be impossible in the Thomistic system to find in the absolute will of God an infallible medium by which He can foreknow future sins.

From Grace, Actual and Habitual A Dogmatic Treatise by Preuss, Arthur

Here the prophecy was a long time ahead, and foretold the exact coming of a ball depending on a combination of circumstances which would seem impossible for reason or intuition to foresee and foreknow.

From Studies in the Out-Lying Fields of Psychic Science by Tuttle, Hudson

Related Words

• deduce
• discern
• foresee
• foretell
• infer
• prophesy
• surmise
• visualize