scry
Americanverb (used without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
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
People who cannot scry may have these hypnagogic illusions, and, so far, may partly understand the experience of the scryer who is wide awake.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 7 "Crocoite" to "Cuba" by Various
Many subjects with strong powers of “visualization,” or seeing things “in the mind’s eye,” cannot scry; others are successful in various degrees.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 7 "Crocoite" to "Cuba" by Various
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.
