anticipate???

[Wesley P]

Hi guys... I'm strugling trying to understand the meaning of the verb "anticipate" in the following sentence.

Carlos anticipated arriving late.

I have the impression that Carlos was aware that he could arrive late, so he took actions in order to arrive on time.

Could you guys help me on this? thanks.

[Barb_D]

I agree with your interpretation exactly.

[billmcd]

Hi guys... I'm strugling trying to understand the meaning of the verb "anticipate" in the following sentence.

Carlos anticipated arriving late.

I have the impression that Carlos was aware that he could arrive late, so he took actions in order to arrive on time.

Could you guys help me on this? thanks.

Or that he expected to arrive late, but in your example there is nothing to suggest that he took any action.

[Raymott]

Or that he expected to arrive late, but in your example there is nothing to suggest that he took any action.

Right. 'Anticipate' has several mutually confusing meanings:
v.tr.
1. To feel or realize beforehand; foresee: hadn't anticipated the crowds at the zoo.
2. To look forward to, especially with pleasure; expect: anticipated a pleasant hike in the country.
3. To deal with beforehand; act so as to mitigate, nullify, or prevent: anticipated the storm by boarding up the windows. See Synonyms at expect.
4. To cause to happen in advance; accelerate.
5. To use in advance, as income not yet available.
6. To pay (a debt) before it is due.
anticipate - definition of anticipate by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

In particular, in some cases, it just means 'foresee', whereas in others it means 'foresee, and take mitigatory action." For example, in a sentence such as "Japan anticipated the damage to the nuclear reactors by the tsunami", it's impossible to tell which sense is meant.