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Synonyms

fortune-teller

American  
[fawr-chuhn-tel-er] / ˈfɔr tʃənˌtɛl ər /
Or fortuneteller

noun

  1. a person who claims the ability to predict the future.

fortune-teller British  

noun

  1. a person who makes predictions about the future as by looking into a crystal ball, reading palms, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of fortune-teller

First recorded in 1580–90; fortune + teller ( def. )

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.

I’d love for you to play fortune teller for a moment, which I realize is always dangerous.

From Salon • Jan. 17, 2026

You’re a generous parent, not a Federal Reserve committee member or a Nobel Prize-winning economist — and certainly not a fortune teller.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 7, 2025

"I'm not a fortune teller - I never know when I will be attacked," the YouTube content creator told the BBC.

From BBC • Mar. 22, 2024

Taher’s mother saw a fortune teller who said her relatives were still alive.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 31, 2024

Christopher remembered the fortune teller and looked at Mal, who was vomiting on the pavement several feet away, scowling.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

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.