scry
Americanverb (used without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of scry
First recorded in 1520–30; shortening of descry
Explanation
To scry is to peer into some object, usually a crystal ball, looking for signs and omens of the future. If you visit a fortune teller at the fair, you can pay them to scry for you. Sometimes scrying is called "peeping" or "seeing," since a fortune teller scries by peering intently into a mirror, crystal, or another reflective surface. You might ask a medium to scry for you if you're struggling to make a difficult decision — or just for fun, to hear predictions about the future course of your life. Scry is a shortened form of descry, "to spy something."
Vocabulary lists containing scry
Scrabble: Words with no Vowels
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!
Witchlings
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!
Novel Study: When Breath Becomes Air, Part II–Epilogue
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:
This remarkable method does not just tell us if there are planets encircling a star—it also allows observers to scry the bulk chemical composition of the planet’s air via starlight shining through its upper atmosphere.
From Scientific American ● Jul. 1, 2021
Everyone comes to Longyearbyen to scry the future.
From Washington Post ● May 25, 2018
I was startled, convinced my tutor possessed the power to scry the thoughts of mind and heart.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
I canna scry every day, nor every noon, nor every year.
From Foes by Johnston, Mary
Thus the conditions under which the scryer can scry, are, as yet, unascertained.
From Cock Lane and Common-Sense by Lang, Andrew
The next case is given, first in the version of the lady who was unconsciously scried for, and next in that of Miss Angus.
From The Making of Religion by Lang, Andrew
Before me lies a spirit board, a lone tarot card and a black scrying mirror.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2025
Using tarot, scrying, pendulums, runes and other forms of intuitive counseling, Amanda Yates Garcia, known as the Oracle of L.A., offers clarity through elemental divination sessions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2022
You may not be Snow White’s evil stepmother demanding to know who is more beautiful, but you are engaging in a sort of fortunetelling and imaginative scrying.
From New York Times ● Mar. 23, 2021
There was, as the initiative’s most ardent defenders would put it, “no known defense” against a remote viewer’s inquiries: Even the most secure facilities were theoretically vulnerable to psychic scrying.
From Slate ● Mar. 20, 2017
First, she thought, a snack Shoving her scrying device into her pocket, Sister Ignatia climbed up to the branch with the starling nest.
From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill
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.
