pressentir

Senses

1. 1.

   to have a presentiment of

   to sense or feel something will happen before it actually does

2. 2.

   to foresee

   to anticipate or predict something intuitively

3. 3.

   to suspect

   to have an intuitive suspicion about something

Examples

• "Elle pressentait que quelque chose n'allait pas."

  She sensed that something was wrong.

• "Je pressentais cette catastrophe depuis longtemps."

  I had a presentiment of this disaster for a long time.

• "Il pressentit une mauvaise nouvelle à son expression."

  He suspected bad news from her expression.

Usage

Pressentir conveys intuitive or instinctive knowledge rather than logical reasoning. Often used with a sense of foreboding or unease. Synonyms include deviner (to guess) and anticiper (to anticipate), but pressentir emphasizes the emotional or intuitive dimension.