foregone

Foregone is an adjective describing something that is already determined in advance or certain to occur. It is most often encountered in the phrase foregone conclusion, which refers to a result that is assumed or acknowledged as inevitable before consideration or debate has taken place. In such usage, the emphasis is on inevitability or precommitment rather than on whether the outcome is morally right or desirable.

Etymology and form: Foregone derives from the element fore- meaning before, plus gone, the past participle of go. The combination yields the sense of something that has “gone before” and thus is already settled in the present discussion. The construction has appeared in English since the early modern period and remains a standard expression in formal and analytical writing.

Usage and nuance: The term signals that further analysis or argument is unlikely to change the result. It is commonly used in political, legal, economic, and critical discourse to indicate that a conclusion is effectively predetermined. While neutral in tone, it can carry a critique of the reasoning process if one views the conclusion as unworthy of debate.

See also: forgo, forethought, inevitability, predetermined, preordained. Foregone is distinct as an adjective from verbs related to forgo, which denote choosing to do without something. The noun phrase foregone conclusion remains the most widely recognized usage.