# anticipation

> English word · Noun · IPA /ænˌtɪs.ɪˈpeɪ.ʃən/ · frequency rank #10,487

## Definitions
1. The act of anticipating, taking up, placing, or considering something beforehand, or before the proper time in natural order.
2. The eagerness associated with waiting for something to occur.
3. Prepayment of a debt, generally in order to pay less interest.
4. Prolepsis.
5. A non-harmonic tone that is lower or higher than a note in the previous chord and a unison to a note in the next chord.
6. Hasty notion; intuitive preconception.

## Etymology
From Middle English anticipacioun, from Middle French anticipation and its etymon Latin anticipātiō, anticipātiōnem.

## Common misspellings (18)
`anitcipation`, `annticipation`, `antciipation`, `anticcipation`, `anticiaption`, `anticipaiton`, `anticipasion`, `anticipatino`, `anticipationn`, `anticipatoin`, `anticipattion`, `anticippation`, `anticiptaion`, `anticpiation`, `antiicpation`, `antticipation`, `atnicipation`, `naticipation`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/anticipation