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definitions

predict

[pri-dikt]
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verb (used with object)
  1. to declare or tell in advance; prophesy; foretell: to predict the weather; to predict the fall of a civilization.
verb (used without object)
  1. to foretell the future; make a prediction.

Origin of predict

1540–50; < Latin praedictus, past participle of praedīcere to foretell, equivalent to prae- pre- + dic-, variant stem of dīcere to say + -tus past participle suffix; see dictum
Related formspre·dict·a·ble, adjectivepre·dict·a·bil·i·ty, nounmis·pre·dict, verbun·pre·dict·ed, adjectiveun·pre·dict·ing, adjective

Synonyms for predict

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1, 2. presage, divine, augur, project, prognosticate, portend. 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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for predicting

foresee, envision, conclude, anticipate, forecast, call, think, figure, prophesy, portend, vaticinate, prognosticate, surmise, guess, forebode, presage, infer, conjecture, read, adumbrate

Examples from the Web for predicting

Contemporary Examples of predicting

Historical Examples of predicting

  • Before this had happened twice, all the town was talking about it, and predicting evil.

    Heather and Snow

    George MacDonald

  • I must say she seems better at reading the past than predicting the future.

    Grace Harlowe's Golden Summer

    Jessie Graham Flower

  • You need no longer laugh at me for predicting your fate in San Francisco.

  • The other went on lecturing her, predicting they would end in the workhouse.

    Madame Bovary

    Gustave Flaubert

  • And yet this friend ended like the rest in predicting defeat.

    The Light of the Star

    Hamlin Garland

British Dictionary definitions for predicting

predict

verb
  1. (tr; may take a clause as object) to state or make a declaration about in advance, esp on a reasoned basis; foretell
Derived Formspredictable, adjectivepredictability or predictableness, nounpredictably, adverb

Word Origin for predict

C17: from Latin praedīcere to mention beforehand, from prae before + dīcere to say
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
Word Origin and History for predicting

predict

v.

1620s (implied in predicted), "foretell, prophesy," a back formation from prediction or else from Latin praedicatus, past participle of praedicere "foretell, advise, give notice," from prae "before" (see pre-) + dicere "to say" (see diction). Related: Predicted; predicting.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper