Seven Alternatives for “Look Forward To”

“Look Forward To”: Meaning and Examples

Have you ever heard someone use the verb phrase look forward to? It’s used to express anticipation or excitement about a future event, experience, or action.

Let’s say you and a group of friends are going to a new restaurant. One of them says:

I look forward to trying the spaghetti bolognese.

The phrase look forward to indicates that your friend is excited to try the spaghetti bolognese.

Here are a few more sentences that contain the phrase look forward to:

Julissa says she looks forward to planning our wedding.

I always look forward to the summer because I get to go to the beach often.

Sam wanted me to tell you that he looks forward to showing us around the city.

The phrase looks forward to can be used in positive and negative contexts. For example:

Tim does not look forward to his dentist appointment.

In the sentence above, the use of not expresses a negative feeling of anticipation.

You might also come across looking forward to, which means the same thing, just uses a different aspect/tense.

I look forward to leaving work early today.

I am looking forward to leaving work early today.

Now that we’ve covered what look forward to means and how to use it in a sentence, let’s review synonyms you can use in place of look forward to.

Formal Synonyms for “Look Forward To”

The phrase look forward to can be found in setting that require formal language. For instance, the expression I look forward to hearing from you is often used in professional emails.

Below, you’ll find look forward to synonyms that are appropriate for formal settings. Please keep in mind that you may have to rewrite the sentence to correctly use the alternative.

1. Eagerly await

I look forward to meeting the rest of the team.

I eagerly await meeting the rest of the team.

2. Am keen on

I look forward to analyzing the results.

I am keen on analyzing the results.

3. Enthusiastic about

She looks forward to trying the new techniques she learned in class.

She is enthusiastic about trying the new techniques she learned in class.

4. Eager to

Fatih says he looks forward to hearing what the CEO has to say.

Fatih says he is eager to hear what the CEO has to say.

Casual Synonyms for “Look Forward To”

There are also informal synonyms for look forward to. The following alternatives are perfect for casual conversations, like when you’re talking to a friend about a new movie that’s about to be released.

5. Can’t wait for

Luisa looks forward to the release of the sequel.

Luisa can’t wait for the sequel to be released.

6. Counting down the days until

I look forward to watching the movie together.

I’m counting down the days until we can watch the movie together.

7. Excited about

Plus, Jordan looks forward to all the snacks and popcorn.

Plus, Jordan is excited about all the snacks and popcorn.

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