predictive

[pri-dik-tiv]

adjective

1. of or relating to prediction.

   The predictive power of the software is its ability to analyze relationships in the data at a speed and on a scale not previously possible.

2. used or useful for predicting or foretelling the future.

   Astrologers look for predictive signs among the stars.

3. being an indication of the future or of future conditions.

   The cold wind was predictive of snow.

4. Digital Technology.,  relating to or being computer or smartphone software that uses the text just entered in a message or document to suggest words that may be wanted next.

   There's a combination of artificial intelligence and special algorithms in the code that makes the predictive text happen.

Other Word Forms

• predictively adverb
• predictiveness noun
• nonpredictive adjective
• unpredictive adjective
• unpredictively adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of predictive¹

First recorded in 1630–40; from Late Latin praedictīvus “foretelling”; predict, -ive

Example Sentences

This predictive ability is what allows chatbots to carry out fluent conversations with human beings.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Keep everything from the road-scanning camera on the front bumper—which allows the adaptive suspension dampers to respond to the road predictively—to the hidden hatch button in the rear wiper.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

These dots could easily be replaced with the actual names of the 19 members, so that the public could learn who has predictive power.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Prof Gustavo Sudre, a neuroimaging and AI researcher at King's College London, commented: "This research looks to be a significant step towards scalable, interpretable, and – most importantly – ethically responsible form of predictive modelling in medicine."

Read more on BBC

The predictive turn in governance aligns with a broader shift toward what some scholars call “preemptive security.”

Read more on Salon