prognostication
AmericanEtymology
Origin of prognostication
1350–1400; Middle English pronosticacion < Medieval Latin prognōsticātiōn- (stem of prognōsticātiō ). See prognosticate, -ion
Explanation
A prognostication is a prediction about the future. If you make gloomy prognostications about how much traffic there will be on the way home, you'll be pleasantly surprised to find the drive fast and easy. Use the noun prognostication when someone's making a forecast or a guess about upcoming events. Your prognostication about whether or not it will rain tomorrow might lead to your family's picnic being cancelled. Another way to use the word is to mean a sign or portent: "I hope that black cat isn't a prognostication of bad luck!" The Latin root, prognostica, means "sign to forecast weather," and it comes from the Greek prognostikos, "foreknowing."
Vocabulary lists containing prognostication
The Alchemist
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Unbroken
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The Boys in the Boat
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
We chose a six-month expiration to provide time for the end-of-year prognostication to be overshadowed by the realities of 2026—whatever that might be.
From Barron's • Dec. 17, 2025
It was the lowest preseason prognostication for the Gators since also coming in fifth in 2015, former coach Jim McElwain’s first season.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 31, 2023
From Cyrus Scofield to Hal Lindsey to Tim LaHaye, we live in the wake of high-stakes prognostication allegedly grounded in John’s dream visions.
From Washington Post • Mar. 21, 2023
“And so the smart thinking is always to be careful about how much prognostication you make about radically changing anything, because in some cases that doesn’t happen.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2023
For unless one has the gift of prognostication, are not all events at least somewhat unexpected?
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
