prescience
noun
pre·science
ˈpre-sh(ē-)ən(t)s 
ˈprē-,
-s(ē-)ən(t)s
: foreknowledge of events:
a
: divine omniscience
b
: human anticipation of the course of events : foresight
presciently
adverb
Did you know?
If you know the origin of science you already know half the story of prescience. Science comes from the Latin verb sciō, scīre, "to know," also source of such words as conscience, conscious, and omniscience. Prescience has as its ancestor a word that attached prae-, a predecessor of pre-, to this root to make praescire, meaning "to know beforehand."
Examples of prescience in a Sentence
He predicted their response with amazing prescience.
Her prescience as an investor is impressive.
Recent Examples on the Web
That may well be called prescience, but without more dramatic ballast, whether or not Family’s rage was ahead of its time becomes a less compelling question.
—
Sara Holdren, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2025
But successfully navigating a shifting landscape requires extraordinary dexterity, prescience and skill.
—Liane Jackson, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
The novel was adapted into a successful play, and Carson followed it with two sequels, before her death from cancer, in 1941, by which time the prescience of her fiction had become appallingly evident.
—Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2025
While talks fell apart back in the day, coming away from a global pandemic can serve as an inspiration for a director and scribe whose previous work on the subject seemed prescience for a year when 2020 was destitute and shut down.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for prescience
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Sara Holdren, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2025
But successfully navigating a shifting landscape requires extraordinary dexterity, prescience and skill.
—Liane Jackson, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
The novel was adapted into a successful play, and Carson followed it with two sequels, before her death from cancer, in 1941, by which time the prescience of her fiction had become appallingly evident.
—Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2025
While talks fell apart back in the day, coming away from a global pandemic can serve as an inspiration for a director and scribe whose previous work on the subject seemed prescience for a year when 2020 was destitute and shut down.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for prescience
Cite this Entry
“Prescience.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prescience. Accessed 22 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
prescience
noun
pre·science
ˈprēsh(-ē)-ən(t)s
ˈpresh-
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share