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anticipate meaning and examples

2025-08-30

Meaning

Anticipate means to expect or look forward to something, often with excitement or preparation. It can also mean to act in advance to deal with something before it happens.

Grammar and Usage

  • Part of Speech: Verb (transitive)

  • Typical patterns:

    • anticipate + noun (We anticipate success.)
    • anticipate + doing sth (She anticipates meeting him tomorrow.)
    • anticipate that + clause (I anticipate that the project will finish on time.)
    • anticipate + object + to-infinitive (He anticipated the plan to succeed.)

Common Phrases

  • anticipate problems
  • eagerly anticipate
  • anticipate the worst
  • anticipate needs
  • as anticipated

Collocations

  • Verb + anticipate: can, eagerly, fully, hardly
  • Anticipate + noun: outcome, result, future, challenge, opportunity
  • Adverbs with anticipate: eagerly, confidently, correctly, wrongly

Examples

  1. We anticipate heavy traffic on the way to the airport.
  2. She eagerly anticipated her first trip abroad.
  3. The company failed to anticipate changes in the market.
  4. I anticipate that the new policy will reduce costs.
  5. He anticipated the question and prepared an answer in advance.
  6. The team is anticipating tough competition this season.
  7. Parents often try to anticipate their children’s needs.
  8. The announcement was warmly anticipated by the fans.
  • expect
  • foresee
  • look forward to
  • predict
  • prepare for