foretell
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
- foreteller noun
- unforetold adjective
Etymology
Origin of foretell
First recorded in 1250–1300, foretell is from the Middle English word fortell. See fore-, tell 1
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.
Some claim that the stock market’s full-year direction is foretold by its performance on the first trading day of January; others focus on the first two days, and still others on the first week.
From MarketWatch
Perhaps it’s bear markets that foretell better times.
From Barron's
A philosopher, historian, songbird of grief and prophet, Didion foretold the city’s future with startling accuracy.
From Los Angeles Times
As the journalist Robert Bryce foretold years ago: “Electric vehicles are the Next Big Thing, and they always will be.”
It was just as the mother wolf had foretold.
From Literature
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.
