forsee

F4O1R1S1E1E1

verb

To neglect; overlook; disregard; despise.

OriginMiddle English forseen ← Old English forsēon →
UncommonScrabble 9
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Meanings

verbforsee (third-person singular simple present forsees, present participle forseeing, simple past forsaw, past participle forseen)

present singular third person forsees · participle present forseeing · past forsaw · participle past forseen

  1. ScotlandUKdialectaltransitiveTo neglect; overlook; disregard; despise.

    Could I forsee the sunken rocks of life?

    1882, Victor Roy, A Masonic Poem by Harriet Annie Wilkins
  2. alternativeAlternative spelling of foresee.

    The reasone why the Commissioner did so muche presse the reading of the declinator was, because he forsaw that they meant to putt him to a dilemma which still should bring ane inconvenience along with it …

    1841, Gordon, History of Scots Affairs, from 1637 - 1641 (quote from 1638)
  3. ScotlandUKdialectaltransitiveTo oversee; superintend; direct.

Origin

  1. Old Englishforsēon“to look down upon, despise”
  2. Middle Englishforseen
  3. Englishforsee

From Middle English forseen, forsen, from Old English forsēon (“to look down upon, despise”), equivalent to for- + see. Compare Old Saxon farsehan, Old High German farsehan (Middle High German versehen).

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Froese
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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