forebrain

F4O1R1E1B3R1A1I1N1

noun

The anterior part of the brain, including the cerebrum, thalamus, and hypothalamus.

Similar
prosencephalon
Opposite
afterbrain
OriginEnglish brain ← Middle English brayn ← Old English bræġn →
UncommonScrabble 14
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Meanings

nounforebrain (plural forebrains)

plural forebrains

  1. anatomyThe anterior part of the brain, including the cerebrum, thalamus, and hypothalamus.

    The medial forebrain bundle (MFB), a key structure of reward-seeking circuitry, remains inadequately characterized in humans despite its vast importance for emotional processing and development of addictions and depression.

    2012, Volker A Coenen, Jaak Panksepp, Trevor A Hurwitz, Horst Urbach, Burkhard Mädler, “Human medial forebrain bundle (MFB) and anterior thalamic radiation (ATR): imaging of two major subcortical pathways and the dynamic balance of opposite affects in understanding depression”, in The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, →DOI, →PMID

    Synonyms: prosencephalon · Antonyms: afterbrain

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe anterior part of the brain, including the cerebrum, thalamus, and hypothalamus.

Similar
prosencephalon
Opposite
afterbrain

More synonyms by meaning

nounthe anterior portion of the brain; the part of the brain that develops from the anterior part of the neural tube

Similar
prosencephalon
Broader
neural structure
Also see
prosencephalon

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*per-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*preh₂-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*pr̥h₂éy
  4. Proto-Germanic*furai
  5. Proto-Germanic*furai-
  6. Proto-West Germanic*forē-
  7. Old Englishfore-
  8. Middle Englishfore-
  9. Englishfore-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*mregʰ-
  11. Proto-Indo-European*mrógʰ-n̥ ~ *mrégʰ-n̥-s
  12. Proto-Germanic*bragną
  13. Proto-West Germanic*bragn
  14. Old Englishbræġn
  15. Middle Englishbrayn
  16. Englishbrain
  17. Englishforebrain

From fore- + brain.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Czech přední mozek
  • přední mozekpart of the brain
Dutch voorhersen
  • voorhersenpart of the brain
Estonian eesaju
  • eesajupart of the brain
Finnish etuaivot
  • etuaivotpart of the brain
French prosencéphale, cerveau antérieur
  • prosencéphalepart of the brain
  • cerveau antérieurpart of the brain
German Vorderhirn
  • Vorderhirnpart of the brain
Greek πρόσθιος εγκέφαλος
  • πρόσθιος εγκέφαλος (prósthios egkéfalos)part of the brain
Hindi अग्रमस्तिष्क
  • अग्रमस्तिष्क (agramastiṣk)part of the brain
Hungarian előagy
  • előagypart of the brain
Japanese 前脳
  • 前脳 (zennō)part of the brain
Korean 전뇌, 앞뇌
  • 전뇌 (jeonnoe)part of the brain
  • 앞뇌 (amnoe)part of the brain
Latvian priekšējās smadzenes
  • priekšējās smadzenespart of the brain
Polish przodomózgowie
  • przodomózgowiepart of the brain
Portuguese prosencéfalo
  • prosencéfalopart of the brain
Russian пере́дний мозг
  • пере́дний мозг (perédnij mozg)part of the brain
Spanish prosencéfalo
  • prosencéfalopart of the brain
Swedish framhjärna, prosencefalon
  • framhjärnapart of the brain
  • prosencefalonpart of the brain
Tagalog harapangutak
  • harapangutakpart of the brain
Tamil முன்மூளை
  • முன்மூளை (muṉmūḷai)part of the brain
Turkish ön beyin
  • ön beyinpart of the brain
Ukrainian передній мозок
  • передній мозок (perednij mozok)part of the brain
Welsh blaen-ymennydd
  • blaen-ymennyddpart of the brain
Cite this entry
APA

forebrain. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forebrain

MLA

“forebrain.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forebrain. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “forebrain,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forebrain.

Source: forebrain on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.