2 uses
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Definition
knowing (or at least expecting) what will happen before it happens
- It is a thing not uncommonly happening to the whale-boats in those swarming seas; the sharks at times apparently following them in the same prescient way that vultures hover over the banners of marching regiments in the east.Chapters 133-135 -- The Chase--First Day; The Chase--Second Day; The Chase--Third Day (73% in)
- For such is the wonderful skill, prescience of experience, and invincible confidence acquired by some great natural geniuses among the Nantucket commanders; that from the simple observation of a whale when last descried, they will, under certain given circumstances, pretty accurately foretell both the direction in which he will continue to swim for a time, while out of sight, as well as his probable rate of progression during that period.Chapters 133-135 -- The Chase--First Day; The Chase--Second Day; The Chase--Third Day (33% in)
There are no more uses of "prescient" in Moby Dick.
Typical Usage
(best examples)