soothsay
Americanverb (used without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of soothsay
First recorded in 1600–10; back formation from soothsayer
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.
See Examples For:
But, he added, the ability to soothsay where a young man is going to be five years from now requires the scout to dig even deeper.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 7, 2016
A regular monthly column, for example, is called "Haruspex," for the Roman soothsay ers who divined the future by poking through the entrails of sacrificial animals.
From Time Magazine Archive
Beyond forests, beyond mountains, lived in the Crimea a certain kind woman named Lala, who could soothsay.
From Hania by Sienkiewicz, Henryk
Oddly enough, though every one in the Settlement had heard the soothsay, and nobody doubted it, she was the only person concerned who took it closely to heart.
From Gudrid the Fair A Tale of the Discovery of America by Hewlett, Maurice Henry
This stuff, stirred by the komfo diviner, answers questions and enables man to soothsay.
From To The Gold Coast for Gold, Vol. II A Personal Narrative by Burton, Richard Francis, Sir
He was also a savvy entrepreneur and fabulist who, despite being illiterate and shunned by the Catholic Church, carved out a life soothsaying and healing ailing neighbors.
From New York Times ● Jul. 6, 2022
At least this is definitive proof that The Post doesn’t pay me for soothsaying.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 22, 2017
They’re like Tom Riddle’s diary of academic soothsaying.
From Slate ● Dec. 22, 2016
Honestly, there was so much loudmouthed soothsaying that it was hard to tell who was saying what.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 21, 2016
“First—and I mean no disrespect to her soothsaying abilities—but I feel it is far from certain that Madame Ionesco will truly be able to summon the shade of Edward Ashton. Do you agree?”
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.
