prophesy
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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)
-
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
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Beowulf: A New Telling
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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.
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
One of their three unreleased songs Love In The City could almost be a prophesy of what befell them.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2022
That should give central bankers confidence that high prices are not becoming so embedded in the American psyche that they become a self-fulfilling prophesy as people ask for higher pay and change their spending patterns.
From New York Times ● Jul. 15, 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
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
Burry’s bets are still off from how low he has prophesied they will go.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
Commanders and commentators may reference ancient texts, such as the Book of Ezekiel, which prophesied a war against the biblical kingdom of Israel, or the Book of Revelation.
From Salon ● Mar. 15, 2026
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
“This guy is going to be champion of the world someday,” Egan prophesied in 2006.
From BBC ● May 16, 2024
“There will be trouble in Afghanistan,” prophesied the old woman.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
Linn Nhyo Taryar's past has been anything but safe and secure, thanks to his prophesying profession.
From Barron's ● Dec. 21, 2025
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
Participants gasped and whispered to one another as they heard an April 2013 recording of Kim Clement, a late South African preacher, apparently prophesying Trump’s presidency.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2023
He noted the irony of his own circumstances, prophesying a city laid waste by remote work.
From New York Times ● Feb. 8, 2023
Our final test involved determining a pattern in four pairs of dominoes and prophesying what the fifth pair might look like.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
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.
