prophetic
Americanadjective
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of or relating to a prophet or prophecy
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containing or of the nature of a prophecy; predictive
Other Word Forms
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propheticalitynoun
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propheticalnessnoun
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hyperpropheticadjective
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hyperpropheticaladjective
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nonpropheticadjective
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nonpropheticaladjective
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postpropheticadjective
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postpropheticaladjective
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prepropheticadjective
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pseudopropheticadjective
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pseudopropheticaladjective
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quasi-propheticadjective
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quasi-propheticaladjective
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unpropheticadjective
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unpropheticaladjective
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hyperpropheticallyadverb
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nonpropheticallyadverb
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propheticallyadverb
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quasi-propheticallyadverb
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unpropheticallyadverb
Etymology
Origin of prophetic
First recorded in 1585–95; from Late Latin prophēticus, from Greek prophētikós; equivalent to prophet + -ic
Explanation
If you make a prediction and it comes true, your words were prophetic. Like the time you warned your dad against eating a whole box of donuts. He got sick, right? That was a prophetic warning. The adjective prophetic traces all the way back to the Greek word prophētikos, meaning "predicting." You know who's really good at predicting stuff? Prophets. Usually, prophetic is used to describe a thing — like a warning, a feeling, or a complaint — rather than a person.
Vocabulary lists containing prophetic
"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act I
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30 GRE Words Beginning with "P"
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The Suffix -ic, Part 2
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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.
Within just four months, Wollberg and Berry’s new company, Prophetic, raised more than $1 million in funding for a consumer device—the “Halo”—from venture capital heavy hitters and acquired advisers who’d worked in neurotech at Apple.
From Slate • Oct. 20, 2023
This religious outlook is known as Prophetic Judaism, a Jewish counterpart to the Social Gospel.
From New York Times • Nov. 2, 2021
Prophetic Wisdom: Facebook has been around long enough now that I think we’re starting to see a cohort of early adopters who are confronting evidence of their young foolishness.
From Washington Post • Mar. 11, 2021
He is a philosopher, public intellectual, activist, scholar and author of several bestselling books, including "Democracy Matters," "Race Matters" and "Black Prophetic Fire."
From Salon • Oct. 13, 2020
“Ah! Seurat! Prophetic pointillism a century before the pixel!”
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
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.
