anticipated

3 definitions • 9 examples

past simple and past participle of

to imagine or expect that something will happen:

We don't anticipate any trouble.

We had one or two difficulties along the way that we didn't anticipate.

Are you anticipating a lot of people at the party tonight?

[ + -ing verb ] They anticipate having several applicants for the job.

[ + that ] They anticipate that they will have several applicants for the job

[ + question word ] At this stage we can't really anticipate what will happen.

The anticipated inflation figure is lower than last month's.

to take action in preparation for something that you think will happen:

It's always best to anticipate a problem before it arises.

The army anticipated (= took action in preparation for) the explosion by evacuating the town.