foretell
Americanverb (used with object)
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foretells,
present (3rd person singular)
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foretold,
past participle, past
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foretelling
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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foretellsimple
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foretellssimple
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have foretoldperfect
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has foretoldperfect
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am foretellingprogressive
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are foretellingprogressive
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is foretellingprogressive
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have been foretellingperfect progressive
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has been foretellingperfect progressive
Past
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foretoldsimple
-
had foretoldperfect
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was foretellingprogressive
-
were foretellingprogressive
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had been foretellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of foretell
First recorded in 1250–1300, foretell is from the Middle English word fortell. See fore-, tell 1
Explanation
To foretell is to predict or hint at something. Some people believe that two crows foretell good luck for the person who sees them. Signs and omens foretell good or bad fortune, and symbolism in the early chapters of a novel can foretell events that happen near the end of the book. Longtime sailors sometimes say that a pink morning sky foretells bad weather later in the day. In each case, something is being foreshadowed or forecast. Fore is an Old English prefix that means "before" or "earlier," and it's combined here with tell, "to reckon or consider."
Vocabulary lists containing foretell
Friday the 13th
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Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus
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"Briar Rose" by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
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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.
See Examples For:
Social media is awash in content about the arcane: how-tos for spellcasting, psychics claiming to foretell the future and endless posts about casting out demons.
From Salon ● Apr. 1, 2026
In her shifting reflection we see that changes in fashion foretell changes in politics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 8, 2026
Perhaps it’s bear markets that foretell better times.
From Barron's ● Dec. 31, 2025
Her name was Annie—“just Annie,” no surname—and she was “just an orphan,” a nobody, really, but she never let her impoverished origins foretell her fate.
From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2024
Her father fondly replied, “Ah! my dear, I wish you would not make matches and foretell things, for whatever you say always comes to pass. Pray do not make any more matches.”
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
This foretells of a world where hydrocarbons are substituted by other energy sources.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
The “Skyscraper Index” foretells tough times for a city or country that’s just built the world’s tallest one.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 13, 2026
If the coming days are anything like those of past years, analysts will try to make the case that the stock market’s performance at the beginning of January foretells its full-year direction.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 2, 2026
Montiel takes a while to tip his hand that he’s after something more emotionally complex than the first act foretells.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2025
Mother warns how we act today foretells the whole year.
From "Inside Out and Back Again" by Thanhha Lai
The extravagant and perhaps exaggerated promises of artificial superintelligence always foretold this outcome.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
Little is known about the saint who, according to legend, was born on a clifftop in Pembrokeshire during a violent storm, after angels foretold his birth to St Patrick 30 years prior.
From BBC ● Mar. 1, 2026
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 ● Jan. 2, 2026
What follows is a chronicle of a death foretold.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2025
“He foretold my parents’ end,” said Luxa sorrowfully, running her fingers over part of the wall.
From "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins
England are due to make it to the semi-finals, with Portugal poised to knock them out two decades after they did in 2006 - though the model stops short of foretelling 'penalties, again'.
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
In the dark recesses of the U.S. economy, price pressures are bubbling up and foretelling another wave of inflation.
From MarketWatch ● May 13, 2026
A viral thought experiment by Citrini Research foretelling mass white-collar unemployment, cratering consumer spending and financial contagion tapped into deep anxieties about the technology both on Wall Street and among the broader public.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 1, 2026
A foretelling of last earthly smells, whether for the hunted or the hunter.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2025
He had the power both of foretelling the future and of changing his shape at will.
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.
