precognition

American  

[pree-kog-nish-uhn] / ˌpri kɒgˈnɪʃ ən /

noun

1. knowledge of a future event or situation, especially through extrasensory means.

2. Scots Law.

   1. the examination of witnesses and other parties before a trial in order to supply a legal ground for prosecution.

   2. the evidence established in such an examination.

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precognition British  

/ ˌpriːkɒɡˈnɪʃən, priːˈkɒɡnɪtɪv /

noun

1. psychol the alleged ability to foresee future events See also clairvoyance clairaudience

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Other Word Forms

• precognitive adjective

Etymology

Origin of precognition

1400–50; late Middle English < Late Latin praecognitiōn-, s. of praecognitiō; pre-, cognition

Compare meaning

How does precognition compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• precognition vs. clairvoyance

Example Sentences

The Clairvoyants perform mentalism, the branch of magic that encapsulates all things mind-reading, precognition and extrasensory perception.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 29, 2025

Today we may view that observation as something akin to informed precognition.

From Salon • Feb. 18, 2025

Wallace had “a level of precognition about certain things,” he adds.

From New York Times • Sep. 5, 2021

If it’s accepted we subconsciously gather hidden information from our surroundings, is precognition a possibility?

From The Guardian • Sep. 29, 2019

When one has such a dream and the predicted event hap pens, it’s hard not to believe in precognition.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos