divination

American  

[div-uh-ney-shuhn] / ˌdɪv əˈneɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the practice of attempting to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge by occult or supernatural means.

2. augury; prophecy.

   The divination of the high priest was fulfilled.

3. perception by intuition; instinctive foresight.

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divination British  

/ ˌdɪvɪˈneɪʃən, dɪˈvɪnətərɪ, -trɪ /

noun

1. the art, practice, or gift of discerning or discovering future events or unknown things, as though by supernatural powers

2. a prophecy

3. a presentiment or guess

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Other Word Forms

• divinatory adjective

Etymology

Origin of divination

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English divinacioun, from Anglo-French, from Latin dīvīnātiōn-, stem of dīvīnātiō, equivalent to dīvīnāt(us) “soothsaid” (past participle of dīvīnāre “to soothsay”; divine ) + -iō -ion

Example Sentences

The “Harry Potter” team did not need a divination expert to know its cast would encounter some “unpleasant and aggressive behavior.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

From precolonial Mexico we discover obsidian mirrors used for divination in Mayan and Aztec ceremonies.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026

The shamans, like the one seen in “Squid Game,” usually are mediators to the spirit world using divination or other rituals.

From Salon • Jun. 29, 2025

Ancestral divination is imperative in order to get through to that, because they’re always there watching.

From New York Times • Nov. 27, 2024

At the bottom, wrapped in a silk scarf, was a book she’d had for twenty years: a commentary on the Chinese method of divination, the I Ching.

From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman