soothsay
Americanverb (used without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of soothsay
First recorded in 1600–10; back formation from soothsayer
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:
But, he added, the ability to soothsay where a young man is going to be five years from now requires the scout to dig even deeper.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 7, 2016
A regular monthly column, for example, is called "Haruspex," for the Roman soothsay ers who divined the future by poking through the entrails of sacrificial animals.
From Time Magazine Archive
Oddly enough, though every one in the Settlement had heard the soothsay, and nobody doubted it, she was the only person concerned who took it closely to heart.
From Gudrid the Fair A Tale of the Discovery of America by Hewlett, Maurice Henry
"Thou must be wealthy and art bountiful, so it is worth while to soothsay for thee."
From The Pharaoh and the Priest An Historical Novel of Ancient Egypt by Curtin, Jeremiah
Beyond forests, beyond mountains, lived in the Crimea a certain kind woman named Lala, who could soothsay.
From Hania by Sienkiewicz, Henryk
Not thankful: All the hand-wringing and apocalyptic soothsaying about how artificial intelligence is a Pandora’s box that will steal our jobs and ultimately spell our doom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 26, 2025
Kathryn Hunter is downright otherworldly as all three of the shape-shifting, soothsaying weird sisters.
From New York Times ● Dec. 22, 2021
At least this is definitive proof that The Post doesn’t pay me for soothsaying.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 22, 2017
They’re like Tom Riddle’s diary of academic soothsaying.
From Slate ● Dec. 22, 2016
“Go ahead with your singing and soothsaying, folks,” Old Timothy said.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
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.
