Foresee, foreknow, divine, apprehend, anticipate can mean to know or expect that something will happen or come into existence in advance of its occurrence or advent or to have knowledge that something exists before it is manifested or expressed.
Foresee apart from its context gives no hint of how this knowledge is derived, whether through presentiment, inspiration, imagination, or one’s ability to draw inferences.
Foreknow usually implies supernatural powers or the assistance of supernatural powers (as through revelation).
Divine is not always clearly distinguishable from foresee, but it often suggests a gift or a special power or sometimes unusual sagacity or discernment.
Apprehend conveys less of a sense of the certainty of what is foreseen than any of the preceding words, but it carries a far stronger implication of the emotional effects of advance knowledge. In general, where one apprehends an evil, one is filled with fear, anxiety, or dread.
Anticipate is a more complex term than any of its synonyms. Thus a critic may foresee the verdict of posterity on a literary work, but he anticipates it only when he formulates a judgment which is either accepted by posterity or is pronounced by it as though the verdict were new.
One may foreknow one’s destiny or apprehend a danger, but one anticipates one’s destiny or a danger only when, through the appropriate advance enjoyment or suffering, one also has a foretaste of that destiny or that danger. One may divine a friend’s wish in advance of its expression, but one anticipates it only when one also gratifies it in advance of its expression.
Anticipate is also used as an alternative to expect and, more distinctively, in the sense of to look forward to (something expected) with a foretaste of the pleasure or pain it promises.