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adj

prescient

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Prescient (adj) means Able to know, or seem to correctly guess, what will happen before it does.

adj
1
Able to know, or seem to correctly guess, what will happen before it does.
"Members opposite seem to be prescient; they seem to know what I am going to say before I have said it." — Roy Emile Jack, Business of the House—Urgency (1960)
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Etymology

A learned borrowing from Latin praesciēns (“foreknowing; foretelling, predicting”), the present participle of Latin praesciō (“to foreknow”), from prae- (a prefix meaning ‘before; in front’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *preh₂-, “before; in front”) and sciō (“to know, understand; to have knowledge of”, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *skey-, “to dissect; to split”). It is cognate with Middle French prescient (modern French prescient, “prescient”) and Italian presciente (“prescient”). Analysed by its surface form, it breaks down as pre- (“earlier in time, beforehand”) + scient (“knowing, aware”).

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Frequently asked questions

What is the meaning of prescient?
"prescient" (adj) means able to know, or seem to correctly guess, what will happen before it does.
What is another word for prescient?
Other words for "prescient" include clairvoyant, foreseeing.

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