Synonyms of foreknow

foreknow 1 of 2

verb

(ˌ)fȯr-ˈnō 

as in to anticipate

to realize or know about beforehand

what couple can possibly foreknow the trials and tribulations that marriage will bring?

Synonyms & Similar Words

• anticipate
• foresee
• predict
• divine
• prevision
• fear
• foretell
• prophesy
• prefigure
• prognosticate
• presage
• forefeel
• envision
• forecast
• perceive
• foreshadow
• envisage
• visualize
• dread
• forewarn
• augur
• caution
• preview
• alert
• foretoken
• apprehend
• discern
• descry

foreknowledge

2 of 2

noun

as in foresight

the special ability to see or know about events before they actually occur

a suspenseful story about a man who has a frightening foreknowledge of disasters

Synonyms & Similar Words

• foresight
• prescience
• divination
• premonition
• omniscience
• presentiment
• clairvoyance
• presage
• extrasensory perception
• sixth sense
• foreboding
• prenotion

Synonym Chooser

How is the word foreknow different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of foreknow are anticipate, divine, and foresee. While all these words mean "to know beforehand," foreknow usually implies supernatural assistance, as through revelation.

if only we could foreknow our own destinies

When might anticipate be a better fit than foreknow?

In some situations, the words anticipate and foreknow are roughly equivalent. However, anticipate implies taking action about or responding emotionally to something before it happens.

the waiter anticipated our every need

How are the words divine and foresee related as synonyms of foreknow?

Divine adds to foresee the suggestion of exceptional wisdom or discernment.

was able to divine Europe's rapid recovery from the war

In what contexts can foresee take the place of foreknow?

Although the words foresee and foreknow have much in common, foresee implies nothing about how the knowledge is derived and may apply to ordinary reasoning and experience.

economists should have foreseen the recession

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of foreknow

Noun

The younger daughter had arrived with foreknowledge of the role her older sister had already claimed. —Catherine Lacey, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2026

Days later, Carlson began releasing The 9/11 Files, a five-part video series that suggests Israel had foreknowledge of the al-Qaeda attacks but withheld the information from the United States. —Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 4 Feb. 2026

But even with that foreknowledge, the moment hits us like a truck full of dynamite, aided immensely by Thurman’s explosive shock at the sight of her daughter. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2025

The chat reportedly included discussions that could indicate ideological motivations, and possibly even encouragement or foreknowledge of the attack. —Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 16 Sep. 2025

What was the level of foreknowledge about this attack? —Khaleda Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025