What does forewent mean?
Forewent is the past tense of the verb 'forgo', meaning to choose to do without something, especially something one would normally want or expect. To say someone forewent a pleasure, a payment, or an opportunity is to record that they gave it up voluntarily, often for a greater good such as savings, principle, or solidarity. The word carries a formal, slightly old-fashioned register, appearing more often in journalism, official statements, and literature than in casual conversation, where 'gave up' or 'skipped' would be more natural. It forms part of a small and famously confusing family: 'forgo' is the present-tense verb, 'forewent' its past tense, and 'forgone' its past participle — while the near-identical 'forego' means to precede. Used precisely, however, 'forewent' elegantly conveys deliberate self-denial, making it useful whenever a writer wants to stress that a sacrifice was chosen rather than imposed.
verbForewent is the past tense of the verb 'forgo': it means to voluntarily do without or give up something, typically something desirable or beneficial.
- Past tense of forgo: to have voluntarily abstained from or given up something.
"She forewent her usual vacation to save money for the house deposit."
"To honour the austerity pledge, the committee forewent its annual dinner."
"He cheerfully forewent the bonus so that junior staff could keep their jobs."
Because it sounds like a typo, 'forewent' hides in plain sight — it's simply what happened yesterday when you forwent dessert.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of forewent
Forewent descends from the Old English verb 'forgān', meaning to go away or forgo, formed from the prefix 'for-' plus the verb 'go'. The compound 'forgo/forewent/forgone' thus literally encodes the idea of 'going without'. Its cognate 'forego' (from 'fore-' + 'go') developed separately to mean going before, which explains the long-standing confusion between the two spellings.
Related word forms
How forewent is actually used
Forewent is a formal, somewhat literary form; in everyday speech people usually say 'gave up' or 'skipped'. It belongs to the irregular verb 'forgo' (forgo, forewent, forgone). Take care not to confuse the verb forms with the adjective 'foregoing' ('coming before'), which derives from the separate verb 'forego'.
Easily confused with forewent
'Forewent' is the simple past tense of 'forgo', while 'foregone' is its past participle, used chiefly in the phrase 'foregone conclusion'.
'Forgo' is the base verb meaning to do without something, of which 'forewent' is the past tense form.
The rarer verb 'forego' (with two e's) means to go before or precede, whereas 'forgo/forewent' means to give something up — the two are easily muddled.