prophetic
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to a prophet or prophecy
-
containing or of the nature of a prophecy; predictive
Other Word Forms
- hyperprophetic adjective
- hyperprophetical adjective
- hyperprophetically adverb
- nonprophetic adjective
- nonprophetical adjective
- nonprophetically adverb
- postprophetic adjective
- postprophetical adjective
- preprophetic adjective
- propheticality noun
- prophetically adverb
- propheticalness noun
- pseudoprophetic adjective
- pseudoprophetical adjective
- quasi-prophetic adjective
- quasi-prophetical adjective
- quasi-prophetically adverb
- unprophetic adjective
- unprophetical adjective
- unprophetically adverb
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.
In the Black Christian prophetic tradition, he told me, witnessing is about action, not words.
From Salon • Apr. 6, 2026
The Jesse Jackson I remember began his career as a prophetic voice to the nation.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 22, 2026
As the Chicago Bears were rocketing toward an NFC North title and playoff run, quarterback Caleb Williams made a comment on social media about his Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman that has proven prophetic.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 4, 2026
It certainly seems like the Cannes jury made some prophetic choices: the crop of films that premiered at the festival earned a total of 19 Oscar nominations.
From Barron's • Feb. 15, 2026
The chaplain memorized the prophetic words solemnly, entranced further by their esoteric import.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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.
