Agency Dictionary
prescience
nounPronunciation: /ˈprɛsiəns/
In Portuguese: presciência
Philosophy & EthicsWhat does “prescience” mean?
The capacity to foresee or anticipate events before they take place, or human foreknowledge.
Etymology
From Middle English prescience, from Old French prescience, from Latin praescientia (foreknowledge), a compound of prae- (before) and scientia (knowledge), from scire (to know). The word names the capacity to know events before they occur.
Usage note
Prescience implies a supernatural or extraordinary quality of knowing what will happen; foresight is ordinary anticipation based on experience and reasoning.
Synonyms
- foreknowledge
- foresight
- clairvoyance
- precognition
Often confused with
- foresight
- Foresight is ordinary planning or anticipation based on evidence; prescience suggests knowing future events without normal grounds for such knowledge.
Word family
- prescient
- presciently
- omniscience
- science
- conscience
Usage examples
In Dune, humanity has split into different societies and planets while they continuously go to war because of a rare spice called Melange that unlocks prescience.
Concept
Source editions
Where this entry comes from in the Agency editorial.
Words of the same theme
- Antithesisnoun
- A person, thing, or concept that represents the direct or exact opposite of another.
- Discursiveadjective
- Proceeding by reasoned argument or sequential exposition rather than by immediate visual intuition.
- Treatisenoun
- A formal, systematic, and comprehensive written work dealing methodically with the principles and evidence of a particular philosophical, scientific, or technical subject.
- Maximnoun
- A concise statement expressing a fundamental principle, general truth, or practical rule of conduct.
- rhetoricnoun
- The art of effective and persuasive speaking or writing, especially through strategic linguistic devices.
- Tangibleadjective
- Perceptible by the sense of touch or capable of being physically grasped and measured in concrete physical reality. It distinguishes concrete material products from virtual or intellectual entities.
- Holisticadjective
- Characterized by the comprehension of parts as intimately interconnected and explicable only in reference to the whole.
- Abyssnoun
- A deep or seemingly bottomless chasm, either in physical geography or metaphorical psychological depth. It evokes feelings of unfathomable emptiness or existential peril.
- Affectnoun
- An expressed or experienced emotion, feeling, or visceral response to a stimulus in psychology and philosophy.
- Agapenoun
- A selfless, unconditional, and altruistic form of love often associated in theology with divine charity.
- Ambiguitynoun
- The quality of being open to more than one interpretation; inexactness or uncertainty of meaning.
Also from these editions: terms
- aestheticsnoun
- A set of principles concerned with the nature and appreciation of beauty, artistic taste, and style.
- baronnoun
- A member of the aristocracy, or an influential magnate exercising commanding power in a specific industry.
- caffeinenoun
- A naturally occurring central nervous system stimulant found in coffee beans, tea leaves, and cacao pods.
- cinnamonnoun
- An aromatic spice obtained from the stripped inner bark of several tree species of the genus Cinnamomum.
- commoditynoun
- A basic primary good, agricultural staple, or raw material that is interchangeable with other goods of the same type.
- eccentricadjective
- Deviating from conventional, customary, or established norms, particularly in personality, style, or flavor.
- espressonoun
- A concentrated coffee beverage brewed by forcing pressurized hot water through finely ground coffee beans.
- narrativenoun
- A spoken or written account of connected events, forming a coherent story or conceptual perspective.
- noveltynoun
- The quality of being new, original, or unusual, or a unique item that catches public fascination.
- slogannoun
- A memorable, catchy phrase used in marketing, politics, or advocacy to encapsulate a core message.
- spicenoun
- An aromatic or pungent vegetable substance used to flavor, color, or preserve food and beverages.
Also from these editions: concepts
- Lateral ThinkingLateral thinking is a deliberate creative problem-solving method that generates novel ideas by looking at scenarios from unorthodox angles and escaping traditional linear…
- Vertical ThinkingVertical thinking is a sequential, analytical cognitive approach that moves step-by-step toward a single logically validated solution based on established data and…
- DuneDune is a 1965 epic science fiction novel by Frank Herbert. In Issue.5, the edition describes it as a Star Wars for adults and uses its fictional spice economy to…
- Frank HerbertFrank Herbert was an American science fiction writer, author of the novel Dune (1965). Issue.5 names him three times in its passage about Dune: in the heading, in the…
- SunglassesSunglasses is a song by Sagan and Sam Russell listed in the Chords music recommendation section of Issue.5. The edition presents the song with its title and artist names…
- Aesthetic PerceptionAesthetic perception is the human faculty of apprehending, feeling, and evaluating beauty, balance, and expressive harmony within objects, art, and environments. It…
- AI-Native EconomyAn AI-native economy is an emerging macroeconomic paradigm where automated machine intelligence, generative models, and algorithmic agents form the core operational…
- Brand NarrativeA brand narrative is the overarching storytelling architecture through which an organization communicates its core identity, foundational values, and emotional purpose to…
- CommodificationCommodification is the economic process by which distinctive goods, services, or unique ideas become standardized and widely traded commodities in mass markets. Through…
- Experiential DifferentiationExperiential differentiation is a competitive business strategy that distinguishes structurally identical products or services through superior user experience, sensory…
- Idea FactoryAn idea factory is a creative and collaborative environment where creative professionals systematically generate, prototype, and refine innovative concepts into…
- Scarcity PrincipleThe scarcity principle is an economic tenet asserting that goods and resources possessing limited supply relative to widespread desire hold higher trade value and command…