divination
Americannoun
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the practice of attempting to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge by occult or supernatural means.
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augury; prophecy.
The divination of the high priest was fulfilled.
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perception by intuition; instinctive foresight.
noun
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the art, practice, or gift of discerning or discovering future events or unknown things, as though by supernatural powers
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a prophecy
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a presentiment or guess
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
Explanation
The idea that you can see the future by supernatural means is called divination. When your friend tells your fortune by reading the tea leaves in your cup, she claims to have the power of divination. The prediction or prophecy itself that's given through the act of fortune telling is also called divination. A psychic's divination that your aunt will soon start a family is much less impressive if your aunt is obviously pregnant. You can also use divination to refer to someone's unusual intuition, like a child who seems to know by divination when someone is feeling sad or upset.
Vocabulary lists containing divination
The Alchemist
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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
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The Night Circus
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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.
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
Ancestral divination is imperative in order to get through to that, because they’re always there watching.
From New York Times • Nov. 27, 2024
He is playing digital divination, reaching for the stars with another narcissistic leap.
From Salon • Jan. 12, 2024
He learned in this way the art of divination as no one ever had, and he became a famous soothsayer.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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.
