What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Prospection vs Prospective - What's the difference?

prospection | prospective |

As nouns the difference between prospection and prospective

is that prospection is the action of looking forward into the future formed by analogy with retrospection not in common use, but there is some modern use and the oed gives citation back to the 19th and 17th centuries while prospective is (obsolete) the scene before or around, in time or in space; view; prospect.

As an adjective prospective is

likely or expected to happen or become.

prospection

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • The action of looking forward into the future. Formed by analogy with retrospection. Not in common use, but there is some modern use and the OED gives citation back to the 19th and 17th centuries.
  • The act of prospecting for minerals. Also not in common use.
  • A search for archaeological remains, usually using modern technology, for example ground penetrating radar.

    • References

    * "Prospection as a feature of Structure" Mona Baker, Gill Francis, Elena Tognini-Bonelli "Text and technology: in honour of John Sinclair" http://books.google.com/books?id=7-Bzc_XjBikC&p71, 1993 John Benjamins Publishing Company ISBN 978-90-272-2138-4- * "First part of the prospection fulfilled, prospection still active" Susan Hunston, Gill Francis, "Pattern grammar: a corpus-driven approach to the lexical grammar of English" http://books.google.co/books?id=UUmtzBRd4VcC&, p242, 2000 John Benjamins Publishing Company, ISBN 978-90-272-2274-9 * "The problem with this error of retrospection is that it can keep us from discovering our errors of prospection" Daniel Gilbert "Stumbling on Happiness" Knopf New York 2006 ISBN 1-4000-4266-6}}

    prospective

    English

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Likely or expected to happen or become.
    • Prospective students are those who have already applied to the university, but have yet to be admitted.
  • Anticipated in the near or far future.
  • Of or relating to a prospect; furnishing a prospect.
  • * Milton
    • Time's long and dark prospective glass.
  • Looking forward in time; acting with foresight.
  • * Sir J. Child
    • The French king and king of Sweden are circumspect, industrious, and prospective , too, in this affair.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (obsolete) The scene before or around, in time or in space; view; prospect.
  • (obsolete) A perspective glass.
    • (Chaucer)
    (Beaumont and Fletcher)
  • (informal, often plural) A (potential) member, student, employee, date, partner, etc.
    • Would you like to show the prospective around?
    I'm meeting the prospectives at 3.
  • * 2006 , Verve: The Spirit of Today's Woman , volume 14, issues 4-6, page 114:
    • At the moment, meeting interesting, 'could be, maybe not' prospectives around the globe keeps her entertained.

    References

    *