prognosticator
Americannoun
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a person who forecasts or predicts something future from present indications or signs; prophet.
Maybe this faltering team can somehow defy the prognosticators and experts and make the playoffs.
-
something that is a sign or indicator of a coming event.
The woolly bear caterpillars and other prognosticators of winter suggest we will have a more normal one this year.
Etymology
Origin of prognosticator
First recorded in 1550–60; prognosticat(e) ( def. ) + -or 2 ( def. )
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.
FiveThirtyEight, the prognosticator Silver founded in 2008 and left earlier this year, gives Harris a 56% chance of winning, while DecisionDeskHQ gave her a 54% chance.
From Salon • Oct. 24, 2024
Not to cast a shadow over your Groundhog Day fun, but flipping a coin is a better prognosticator of winter weather than the 39 percent success rate of Punxsutawney Phil and his coterie.
From Slate • Feb. 2, 2024
Yet tiny San Benito County developed a reputation in the early 2000s as the state’s political prognosticator, with results at every election that closely mirrored the statewide vote.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 7, 2023
At the beginning of the season, it was hard to find a prognosticator who thought the Orioles would have a winning season, much less a chance to play late-October baseball.
From Washington Post • Aug. 30, 2022
It seems to me that the examiner should be an exceedingly able diagnostician and prognosticator.
From Arteriosclerosis and Hypertension: with Chapters on Blood Pressure, 3rd Edition. by Warfield, Louis Marshall
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.
