Definition of "anticipation" [an•tic•i•pa•tion]

• The act of anticipating. (noun)
• An expectation. (noun)
• Foreknowledge, intuition, and presentiment. (noun)
• The use or assignment of funds, especially from a trust fund, before they are legitimately available for use. (noun)
• Music Introduction on a weak beat of one note of a new chord before the previous chord is resolved. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Turns out the anticipation is usually the worst of it, except during blood tests where the ineptitude is the worst."
• "For players such as Pandolfo, who was a Boston University junior in 1995 when New Jersey won the title, the anticipation is a killer."
• "WASHINGTON (CNN) – Minnesota Senator-elect Al Franken's arrival on Capitol Hill some eight months after Election Day has set off a message battle in anticipation of the 2010 midterm elections."