scry
Americanverb (used without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
- scryer noun
Etymology
Origin of scry
First recorded in 1520–30; shortening of descry
Explanation
To scry is to peer into some object, usually a crystal ball, looking for signs and omens of the future. If you visit a fortune teller at the fair, you can pay them to scry for you. Sometimes scrying is called "peeping" or "seeing," since a fortune teller scries by peering intently into a mirror, crystal, or another reflective surface. You might ask a medium to scry for you if you're struggling to make a difficult decision — or just for fun, to hear predictions about the future course of your life. Scry is a shortened form of descry, "to spy something."
Vocabulary lists containing scry
Scrabble: Words with no Vowels
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Witchlings
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Novel Study: When Breath Becomes Air, Part II–Epilogue
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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.
This remarkable method does not just tell us if there are planets encircling a star—it also allows observers to scry the bulk chemical composition of the planet’s air via starlight shining through its upper atmosphere.
From Scientific American • Jul. 1, 2021
Everyone comes to Longyearbyen to scry the future.
From Washington Post • May 25, 2018
I was startled, convinced my tutor possessed the power to scry the thoughts of mind and heart.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
In June, 1896, a lady visited me in Manchester Square and, being anxious on several points, asked that I would scry for her.
From Second Sight A study of Natural and Induced Clairvoyance by Sepharial
I canna scry every day, nor every noon, nor every year.
From Foes by Johnston, Mary
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.
