prophesy
Americanverb (used with object)
-
prophesies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
prophesied,
past participle, past
-
prophesying
present participle
-
to foretell or predict.
- Synonyms:
- prognosticate, augur
-
to indicate beforehand.
-
to declare or foretell by or as if by divine inspiration.
- Synonyms:
- divine
-
to utter in prophecy or as a prophet.
verb (used without object)
-
prophesies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
prophesied,
past participle, past
-
prophesying
present participle
-
to make predictions.
-
to make inspired declarations of what is to come.
-
to speak as a mediator between God and humankind or in God's stead.
-
Archaic. to teach religious subjects.
verb
-
to reveal or foretell (something, esp a future event) by or as if by divine inspiration
-
archaic (intr) to give instruction in religious subjects
Commonly Confused
See prophecy.
Synonym Usage
See predict.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
prophesysimple
-
prophesiessimple
-
have prophesiedperfect
-
has prophesiedperfect
-
am prophesyingprogressive
-
are prophesyingprogressive
-
is prophesyingprogressive
-
have been prophesyingperfect progressive
-
has been prophesyingperfect progressive
Past
-
prophesiedsimple
-
had prophesiedperfect
-
was prophesyingprogressive
-
were prophesyingprogressive
-
had been prophesyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of prophesy
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; verb use of variant of the noun prophecy (fully distinguished in form and meaning in the 18th century)
Explanation
The word prophesy can mean to predict or reveal something that will happen in the future. Many people use astrology to prophesy, or predict, their future regarding misfortune, wealth, love, and relationships. Used as a verb prophesy can mean to deliver a sermon or predict through divine inspiration. A religious leader may prophesy to followers about good, evil, and forgiveness. In ancient Greece, an oracle would prophesy the Greek's future regarding the gods, war, and harvest. Using a crystal ball, a fortuneteller will prophesy, or reveal, aspects of your future such as wealth, love, and death.
Vocabulary lists containing prophesy
Harriet Tubman
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Beowulf: A New Telling
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Commonly Confused Words, List 2
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
When we set out to make this film, No Choice, we hoped to imagine a plausible future — not to prophesy our present reality.
From Salon ● Jun. 14, 2025
Only Chani manages to escape the trap of prophesy and bloodlines, of arranged marriage, designer babies and the dream of world domination.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 5, 2024
Studies can’t prophesy what will happen to any one person, he says, but “this is about probabilities and relative risks.”
From New York Times ● Oct. 31, 2023
One of their three unreleased songs Love In The City could almost be a prophesy of what befell them.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2022
The priest proceeded to interpret my mother’s prophesy, but I was too anxious about her well-being to pay any attention to what he was saying.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
In another joint paper on “the illusion of validity,” that legendary duo posited that an apparent similarity between two unrelated events, a parchment-paper test, makes us partial to seemingly endless, overconfident prophesies of disaster.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2025
But he was quickly disabused of any hope that his prophesies of financial doom would sway opponents.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2025
But the sun no longer shines on their quaint German town, and Ellen prophesies that something is wrong.
From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2024
The town is best-known in Catholic tradition for three secret, apocalyptic prophesies said to be delivered to three children by an apparition of the Virgin Mary in 1917, when it was a poor village.
From New York Times ● Aug. 5, 2023
Tom and Eb were sullen and resentful for days that their prophesies of an easy victory should so early have taken on a hollow ring.
From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt
Low and behold, right before Tyler, the Creator’s set, a bright orange blimp reading “Marty Supreme” began circling Dodger Stadium — just as Chalamet prophesied.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 24, 2025
When she was little, a neighbor heard her singing along to the radio and prophesied to Carol’s mother: “Someday she’ll be famous.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2025
This, he prophesied, would lead to an unbreakable coalition that could fundamentally reshape the nation’s politics for the next half-century.
From Slate ● Nov. 25, 2024
Dubois, 27, becomes a top dog in the glamour division, but 'Dynamite' is not a flash in the pan and has long been prophesied for heavyweight stardom.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2024
His wife’s face, sodden with the six-hour self-accusatory depression which she had prophesied, manifested itself on the vidscreen.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
Clients have drifted away from Song Oh-soon's fortune-telling village on the edge of Seoul, preferring online AI-powered divination to the centuries-old prophesying tradition still practised there.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
It is often called ritual theatre for its electrifying drama, featuring daring acts like fire-walking, diving into burning embers, chanting occult verses, and prophesying.
From BBC ● Nov. 30, 2024
Years before, she imagined her future death, as if prophesying:
From Seattle Times ● May 9, 2023
It was the very concept of making original content, prophesying the deals now common at streaming platforms like Netflix.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2021
He was the sort of man who would become a British Israelite nowadays, and spend the rest of his life prophesying the end of the world by measuring the passages in the Great Pyramid.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
