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

Love yourself by letting go of what was, thankfully, never ours to control in the first place — the divine divination of love.

From Los Angeles Times

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

From The Wall Street Journal

Muzi, a Taoist monk and sailmaker, joins the crew partway through the novel and guides the captain using divinations from the “I Ching,” something which the rest of the crew finds understandably strange.

From Los Angeles Times

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

From Salon