Anticipated

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Definitions

1. To expect something with eagerness and preparation for a future event while also making predictions based on current indicators and forming plans accordingly
2. Regarded as likely to occur in the future and prepared for with interest or planning
3. Thought about beforehand as probable, often motivating advance arrangements

Etymology: Anticipated is the past tense and past participle of "anticipate," so the root meaning belongs to the verb. That verb comes from Latin "anticipātus," the past participle of "anticipō," which joins "ante," meaning "before," with "capiō," meaning "to take." To anticipate, then, was literally to take something before its time, to seize it in advance. The same Latin stem gives English "capture," "capable," and "receive," all of them ultimately built on the idea of grasping. English took the verb from Latin, and the sense of grasping early on softened into the modern idea of foreseeing or expecting. Someone who anticipated a blow in the older usage was effectively getting to it first, and the sense of expecting something that has not yet arrived grew out of that notion of getting ahead of events.

Synonyms: expected, foreseen, predicted

Antonyms: unexpected, surprising