predict

American  

[pri-dikt] / prɪˈdɪkt /

verb (used with object)

predicts, present (3rd person singular) predicted, past participle, past predicting present participle

1. to declare or tell in advance; prophesy; foretell.

   to predict the weather; to predict the fall of a civilization.

   Synonyms:

   portend, prognosticate, project, augur, divine, presage

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verb (used without object)

predicts, present (3rd person singular) predicted, past participle, past predicting present participle

1. to foretell the future; make a prediction.

   Synonyms:

   portend, prognosticate, project, augur, divine, presage

predict British  

/ prɪˈdɪkt /

verb

1. (tr; may take a clause as object) to state or make a declaration about in advance, esp on a reasoned basis; foretell

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Synonym Usage

Predict, prophesy, foresee, forecast mean to know or tell (usually correctly) beforehand what will happen. To predict is usually to foretell with precision of calculation, knowledge, or shrewd inference from facts or experience: The astronomers can predict an eclipse; it may, however, be used without the implication of underlying knowledge or expertise: I predict she'll be a success at the party. Prophesy usually means to predict future events by the aid of divine or supernatural inspiration: Merlin prophesied the two knights would meet in conflict; this verb, too, may be used in a more general, less specific sense. I prophesy he'll be back in the old job. To foresee refers specifically not to the uttering of predictions but to the mental act of seeing ahead; there is often (but not always) a practical implication of preparing for what will happen: He was clever enough to foresee this shortage of materials. Forecast has much the same meaning as predict; it is used today particularly of the weather and other phenomena that cannot easily be accurately predicted: Rain and snow are forecast for tonight. Economists forecast a rise in family income.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• predictability
  noun
• mispredict
  verb
• predictable
  adjective
• unpredicted
  adjective
• unpredicting
  adjective
• predictably
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• predicting
  present
• predicted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• predict
  simple
• predicts
  simple
• have predicted
  perfect
• has predicted
  perfect
• am predicting
  progressive
• are predicting
  progressive
• is predicting
  progressive
• have been predicting
  perfect progressive
• has been predicting
  perfect progressive

Past

• predicted
  simple
• had predicted
  perfect
• was predicting
  progressive
• were predicting
  progressive
• had been predicting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will predict
  simple
• will have predicted
  perfect
• will be predicting
  progressive
• will have been predicting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of predict

First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin praedictus, past participle of praedīcere “to foretell,” equivalent to prae- “before, earlier” + dic-, variant stem of dīcere “to say” + -tus past participle suffix; see pre-, dictum

Explanation

To predict is to say what you think is going to happen in the future. If you predict that you'll win the poker championship, you're either really confident in your poker skills or you're cheating. The prefix pre means "before." Dict comes from the Latin dicere, which means "to say," yet you can use predict to refer to things that can't say anything at all. Darkening skies can predict a coming storm, for example, and a runny nose can predict a cold. You can predict something based on factual evidence, or on a crystal-ball reading, or just on plain intuition.

Example Sentences

All of this makes it tricky to predict how the second-quarter will go for retailers.

From Barron's • Jun. 29, 2026

Neural signals could be used to predict upcoming words before they were spoken.

From Science Daily • Jun. 29, 2026

The company took a $2.59 billion operational loss in 2025 and warned in its prospectus that it cannot predict when it will achieve profitability.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 26, 2026

“I can’t predict the future. I don’t have an eight ball in front of me. We’ll see what happens.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 26, 2026

This means, as Stephen Hawking has observed with a touch of understandable excitement, that one cannot "predict future events exactly if one cannot even measure the present state of the universe precisely!"

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

Related Words

• anticipate
• call
• conclude
• envision
• forecast
• foresee
• think