different between foresee vs foreseek

English

Etymology

From Middle English foreseen, forseen, from Old English fores?on; equivalent to fore- +? see. Similar formations in Dutch voorzien, German vorsehen, Latin pr?vide?.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /f???si/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /f???si?/
• Rhymes: -i?

Verb

foresee (third-person singular simple present foresees, present participle foreseeing, simple past foresaw, past participle foreseen)

1. To be able to see beforehand: to anticipate; predict.
   • 1838, Charles Dickens, The Lamplighter:

     "I foresee in this," he says, "the breaking up of our profession."

2. (obsolete) To provide.
   • 1625, Francis Bacon, Of Vicissitude of Things

     Great shoals of people, which go on to populate, without foreseeing means of life.

Derived terms

• foreseeable

Translations

See also

• forsee
• unforeseen

English

Etymology

From fore- +? seek.

Verb

foreseek (third-person singular simple present foreseeks, present participle foreseeking, simple past and past participle foresought)

1. (transitive) To seek beforehand; seek in advance.
   • 1960, Society for Contemporary Studies, New Delhi, Mankind:

     The pamphlet is an attempt to analyse and foreseek the prospects of the foreign policies of certain Afro-Asian countries.

   • 1986, Giacomo Balla, Maurizio Fagiolo Dell'Arco, Works by Giacomo Balla:

     And this striving for objectivity which spurs his interest for scientific phenomena, e.g. x-rays which he mentions in his notebook, urges him (one is tempted to say: forces him) to foreseek appearance for the substance of truthfulness.