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
![]()
Bogun looked into the foaming water on the wheel as if he wished himself to soothsay.
From With Fire and Sword An Historical Novel of Poland and Russia. by Henryk Sienkiewicz
“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 Alexander Glovatski
"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 Jeremiah Curtin
At least this is definitive proof that The Post doesn’t pay me for soothsaying.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 22, 2017
What Mr. Donovan’s own extensive research about fortunetelling left him with was the feeling that predicting the future required developing certain powers, but not the kind that involve actual soothsaying.
From New York Times ● Nov. 25, 2016
Honestly, there was so much loudmouthed soothsaying that it was hard to tell who was saying what.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 21, 2016
Much as the global financial crisis tripped up economists in 2008, so too has the presidential campaign made a mockery of political soothsaying.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 17, 2016
“First—and I mean no disrespect to her soothsaying abilities—but I feel it is far from certain that Madame Ionesco will truly be able to summon the shade of Edward Ashton. Do you agree?”
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
![]()
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.