foretell
Americanverb (used with object)
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
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had foretoldperfect
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was foretellingprogressive
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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.
“What the Stars Foretell for the New Princess” was so popular—and such a terrific distraction—that the paper made it a regular feature.
From The New Yorker • Oct. 21, 2019
Foretell, fōr-tel′, v.t. to tell before: to prophesy.—v.i. to utter prophecy.—n.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various
You, who to-day, from the most happy state, Have thrown me upon marriage.—Did not I Foretell it would be thus?
From The Comedies of Terence by Colman, George
I have heard the voice Of the Eternal Gods, and well-assured Foretell thee that thy death not now impends.
From The Iliad of Homer Translated into English Blank Verse by William Cowper by Cowper, William
As they enter, man by man, Shape and size the people scan With eager glance; And of each ill-fated pair, That await the signal there, Foretell the chance.
From Mathieu Ropars: et cetera by Young, William
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.
