foresight
fore·sight/ˈfɔɹsaɪt/noun
foresight is spelled F-O-R-E-S-I-G-H-T: 9 letters and 2 syllables (fore·sight). It appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,536th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, foresight means “The ability, or the due use of one's ability, to foresee or prepare wisely for the future” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of foresight is foresights.
How many letters and syllables are in foresight?
| Letters | 9: F-O-R-E-S-I-G-H-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: fore·sight |
| In writing | 1.4 times per million words; the 23,536th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is foresight?
Foresight appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,536th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce foresight?
- US /ˈfɔɹsaɪt/
- UK /ˈfɔːsaɪt/
- /ˈfo(ː)ɹsaɪt/
Foresight has 2 syllables, split fore·sight in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vininn126-foresight.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with foresight
Sounds like: Forsyte (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of foresight
- foresights plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does foresight mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The ability, or the due use of one's ability, to foresee or prepare wisely for the future.
Near-synonym: forethought
- 2
The ability to foresee future events in a supernatural or paranormal way, such as psychically.
- 3
The front sight on a firearm (e.g., rifle, handgun).
Holonym: iron sights
- 4
A bearing taken forwards towards a new object.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Foresight in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense ability to foresee or prepare wisely for the future:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | clairvoyance, prévoyance, prescience |
| German | Voraussicht, Hellsichtigkeit, Weitsicht |
| Portuguese | presciência |
| Spanish | previsión, profecía, adivinación, clarividencia, presciencia, desperteza |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does foresight come from?
From Middle English forsight, forsyght, forsichte (since 14th c.), a calque of Latin providentia. By surface analysis, fore- + sight. Compare Scots foresicht, Saterland Frisian Foarsicht, archaic Dutch voorzicht (now voorzichtigheid), German Vorsicht (all “caution, foresight”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).