Definition

Adjective: - Capable of being anticipated or predicted: Describes something that can be reasonably expected or foreseen based on present conditions or trends.

Usage

The adjective "foreseeable" is primarily used to modify nouns, indicating that the thing described can be predicted. It is often used in formal, legal, or business contexts. It typically appears in phrases like "in the foreseeable future" or before nouns like "consequences," "risks," or "outcomes."

Examples

• The company's expansion plans are on hold for the foreseeable future.
• The accident was the result of a series of foreseeable events.
• There are no major changes expected in the foreseeable term of the contract.
• The report assessed all foreseeable environmental impacts of the project.

Advanced Usage

• "In the foreseeable future": This is a very common fixed phrase meaning "for as long as can be reasonably predicted from the present moment." It often implies a relatively short or medium-term period.
  • We do not plan to relocate the office in the foreseeable future.
• "Reasonably foreseeable": A legal and technical term used to describe a risk or consequence that a prudent person should have been able to anticipate.
  • The manufacturer is liable for injuries caused by reasonably foreseeable misuse of the product.

Variants and Related Words

• Foresee (verb): To see or know beforehand; to predict.
  • Analysts foresee steady growth in the sector.
• Foreseeability (noun): The quality of being foreseeable.
  • The court considered the foreseeability of the harm when determining liability.

Synonyms

• Predictable: Able to be predicted.
• Anticipatable: Capable of being anticipated.
• Expected: Regarded as likely to happen.

Antonyms

• Unforeseeable: Not able to be anticipated or predicted.
• Unpredictable: Not able to be foretold or relied upon.
• Unexpected: Not expected or regarded as likely to happen.

Adjective

1. capable of being anticipated
   • foreseeable costs were well within the budget