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the act of or the state of being .
realization in advance; foretaste.
expectation or hope.
previous notion; slight previous impression.
intuition, foreknowledge, or prescience.
Law. a premature withdrawal or assignment of money from a trust estate.
Music. a tone introduced in advance of its harmony so that it sounds against the preceding chord.
Contemporary Examples

We get hyped to see the next episode and wait with anticipation from the moment one episode ends and another it so air.
Binge Watching is Lame and Lonely Roland S. Martin February 18, 2014

As for today: savor the excitement, and share in the anticipation of what we will learn in the coming months.
Finding Higgs Boson, or God Particle, Will Resolve Scientific Mysteries Frank Close December 16, 2011

The animals are supposedly evacuating themselves in anticipation of an eruption at the park, which sits on a huge volcanic system.
Turns Out, a Video of Bison Purportedly Fleeing Yellowstone Is a Hoax Timothy Lesle April 7, 2014

Others point to businesses cutting hours and full-time positions in anticipation of the Affordable Care Act.
Companies Must Get Smarter About Hiring and Nurturing Part-Time Workers Adam Lewis September 25, 2013

ZOE is undone by this and rips off her shirt in anticipation.
Frank Underwood Will Not Tolerate Insubordination in This Olive Garden Kelly Williams Brown February 23, 2014

Historical Examples

It was possibly in anticipation of his theory that the young effigy called him “father!”
Materialized Apparitions Edward Augustus Brackett

But he was beginning to drink with pleasure, with anticipation, with hope.
The Secret Agent Joseph Conrad

Besides, the slight put upon poor Betsey had destroyed much of the pleasure of anticipation.
Child Life in Prose Various

By anticipation their bosoms swelled with gratitude, and their hearts dilated into praise.
Imogen William Godwin

He eyed me sardonically for a moment, as if enjoying in anticipation the pleasure of compelling me against my will.
The Shame of Motley Raphael Sabatini

noun
the act of anticipating; expectation, premonition, or foresight
the act of taking or dealing with funds before they are legally available or due
(music) an unstressed, usually short note introduced before a downbeat and harmonically related to the chord immediately following it Compare suspension (sense 11)
n.

late 14c., from Latin anticipationem (nominative anticipatio) “preconception, preconceived notion,” noun of action from past participle stem of anticipare “take care of ahead of time” (see anticipate). Meaning “action of looking forward to” is from 1809.