predictive
Americanadjective
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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.
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used or useful for predicting or foretelling the future.
Astrologers look for predictive signs among the stars.
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being an indication of the future or of future conditions.
The cold wind was predictive of snow.
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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.
adjective
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of, relating to, or making predictions
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text messaging (of mobile phone technology) enabling mobile phones to predict the word being entered in a text message from the first few letters
predictive texting
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of predictive
First recorded in 1630–40; from Late Latin praedictīvus “foretelling”; see predict, -ive
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.
Predictive Discovery owns the Bankan gold project in Guinea, one of the largest undeveloped gold resources in Africa.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025
The offer implies a price of A$0.778 for each Predictive Discovery share based on Perseus’s closing price Tuesday, a nearly 35% premium to the stock’s 10-day volume weighted average price, Perseus said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 3, 2025
Predictive models can also help authorities plan better responses.
From BBC • Jun. 2, 2025
Predictive Services is forecasting below-normal temperatures for Southern and near-to-below for Northern California through June.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 8, 2024
Predictive Dreams Another presumed kind of extrasensory perception is the predictive dream.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
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.
