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• prophet
  prophet

  noun

  a person who speaks for God or a deity, or by divine inspiration.
• Prophet
  Prophet

  noun

  the principal designation of Mohammed as the founder of Islam

prophet

American  

[prof-it] / ˈprɒf ɪt /

noun

1. a person who speaks for God or a deity, or by divine inspiration.

2. (in the Old Testament)

   1. a person chosen to speak for God and to guide the people of Israel.

      Moses was the greatest of Old Testament prophets.

   2. (often initial capital letter) one of the Major or Minor Prophets.

   3. one of a band of ecstatic visionaries claiming divine inspiration and, according to popular belief, possessing magical powers.

   4. a person who practices divination.

3. one of a class of persons in the early church, next in order after the apostles, recognized as inspired to utter special revelations and predictions. 1 Corinthians 12:28.

4. the Prophet, Muhammad, the founder of Islam.

5. a person regarded as, or claiming to be, an inspired teacher or leader.

6. a person who foretells or predicts what is to come.

   a weather prophet; prophets of doom.

7. a spokesperson of some doctrine, cause, or movement.

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prophet ¹ British  

/ ˈprɒfɪt /

noun

1. a person who supposedly speaks by divine inspiration, esp one through whom a divinity expresses his will

2. a person who predicts the future

   a prophet of doom

3. a spokesman for a movement, doctrine, etc

4. Christian Science

   1. a seer in spiritual matters

   2. the vanishing of material sense to give way to the conscious facts of spiritual truth

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Prophet ² British  

/ ˈprɒfɪt /

noun

1. the principal designation of Mohammed as the founder of Islam

2. a name for Joseph Smith as founder of the Mormon Church

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prophet Cultural  

1. Someone who brings a message from God to people. The best-known prophets are those of the Old Testament. Their most frequent themes were true worship of God, upright living, and the coming of the Messiah. They often met with bitter resistance when they spoke against the idol worship and immorality of their people. Among the prophets of the Old Testament were Daniel, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jonah, and Moses. Prophets also appear in the New Testament. Jesus called John the Baptist a prophet; Christians (see also Christian) consider him a bridge between the prophets of the Old Testament and those of the New Testament. Jesus mentions “true prophets” and “false prophets” — those who present the true message of God and those who present a counterfeit (see By their fruits ye shall know them and wolves in sheep's clothing). He himself was considered a prophet in his lifetime (see A prophet is not without honor save in his own country) and is still widely revered by non-Christians as a prophet, though not as the Messiah. The New Testament also mentions that some of the early Christians were prophets who spoke inspired messages to their communities.

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Discover More

In general usage, a “prophet” is someone who can foretell the future. The prophets of the Bible (see also Bible) often made predictions, which confirmed their authority when the predictions came true, but changing the lives of their people was a more central part of their mission.

Other Word Forms

• prophet-like
  adjective
• prophetess
  noun
• prophethood
  noun
• prophetless
  adjective
• prophetlike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of prophet

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English prophete, from Late Latin prophēta, from Greek prophḗtēs, equivalent to pro- “before (in time, place, precedence, dignity)” + -phētēs “speaker,” derivative of phánai “to speak”; see also pro- ²

Explanation

By the time you finish reading this definition, you will understand what a prophet is. How do I know? Perhaps I am a prophet, someone who can predict the future. Or maybe it’s just a guess. The future is a foggy mystery, but a prophet sees beyond that fog to speak about what’s to come. A fortune teller is a prophet, and so is a savvy computer designer who knows how technology will change in ten years. Prophet comes from the Greek word for “spokesman,” which explains another definition of prophet: someone who speaks on behalf of God. Prophet is pronounced the same as profit, and some prophets use their talents to earn lots of profit.

Example Sentences

The shrine is the ornate burial place of Ali -- the Prophet Mohammed's son-in-law, the fourth Islamic caliph and the first Shia Imam.

From Barron's • May 4, 2026

The late Prophet Clement and others like him are part of a growing and politically connected movement within charismatic and Pentecostal Christianity called the New Apostolic Reformation.

From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026

Mojtaba Khamenei, a cleric who has a salt-and-pepper beard and the black turban of the "seyyed" -- descendants of the Prophet Mohammed -- is a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.

From Barron's • Mar. 8, 2026

Prophet Brown also could play outside if he doesn’t play in the slot.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2026

My favorite sketchbook is on the shelf above my desk now: a leather-bound planner that holds the almost-finished biography of the Prophet Muhammad.

From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali

Related Words

• prognosticator
• seer
• witch