fortune-teller

American  

[fawr-chuhn-tel-er] / ˈfɔr tʃənˌtɛl ər /

Or fortuneteller

noun

fortune-tellers plural

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

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• fortune-telling
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• fortune-tellers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of fortune-teller

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

Example Sentences

You may need a Nobel Prize-winning mathematician and a fortune teller to predict the returns over the lifetime of your grandchildren to ensure that they each end up with an equal amount.

From MarketWatch • May 28, 2026

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

From Salon • Jan. 17, 2026

He received thousands of mysterious calls from “voices” of the dead including angels, some of them urging the mayor to help the fortune teller.

From BBC • May 26, 2024

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

From Seattle Times • Jan. 31, 2024

“I am not a fortune teller nor yet a badchan,” Reb Boruch said.

From "The Devil's Arithmetic" by Jane Yolen