Future Meaning
/ˈfjuː.t͡ʃəː/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounThe time ahead; those moments yet to be experienced.
nounSomething that will happen in moments yet to come.
Sentence Examples
The best way to predict the future is to invent it.
What do you want to do in the future?
The land will remain untouched for future generations to enjoy.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
She is saving money now to have a secure ____ later in life.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The young students are hopeful about their ____ and the many opportunities that lie ahead for them.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English future, futur, from Old French futur, from Latin futūrus, irregular future active participle of sum (“to be”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- (“to become, be”). Cognate with Old English bēo (“to become, will be; to be”). More at be. Doublet of futur. Displaced native Old English tōweard, which took on a different meaning as toward, and Middle English afterhede (“future”, literally “afterhood”) in the given sense.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"This solitary attitude stems in part from a deep sense of fatalism and futility, a profound social effect of the genophage that caused krogan numbers to dwindle to a relative handful. Not only are they angry that the entire galaxy seems out to get them, the krogan are also generally pessimistic about their race's chances of survival. The surviving krogan see no point to building for the future; there will be no future. The krogan live with an attitude of "kill, pillage, and be selfish, for tomorrow we die.""
— 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Krogan: Culture Codex entry:
"Think of banking today and the image is of grey-suited men in towering skyscrapers. Its future, however, is being shaped in converted warehouses and funky offices in San Francisco, New York and London, where bright young things in jeans and T-shirts huddle around laptops, sipping lattes or munching on free food."
— 2013 August 3, “Revenge of the nerds”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:
"Again, it's unlikely they will return to traffic, but futures have been secured for four that will be heading to heritage railways [...]."
— 2020 May 20, John Crosse, “Soon to be gone... but never forgotten”, in Rail, page 63:
"So this was my future home, I thought! Certainly it made a brave picture. I had seen similar ones fired-in on many a Heidelberg stein. Backed by towering hills,[…]a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one's dreams."
— 1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter IV, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
"It[The study] also attempts to predict the future progression of AI as it relates to new inventions."
— 2019 February 3, “UN Study: China, US, Japan Lead World AI Development”, in Voice of America, archived from the original on 07 Feb 2019:
Explore More A1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
She is saving money now to have a secure ____ later in life.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The young students are hopeful about their ____ and the many opportunities that lie ahead for them.