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
V. predict, prognosticate, prophesy, vaticinate, divine, foretell, soothsay, augurate†, tell fortunes; cast a horoscope, cast a nativity; advise; forewarn &c.
From Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases by Roget, Peter Mark
This stuff, stirred by the komfo diviner, answers questions and enables man to soothsay.
From To The Gold Coast for Gold, Vol. II A Personal Narrative by Burton, Richard Francis, Sir
He began to soothsay whether he should go or not.
From The Deluge, Vol. I. (of 2) An Historical Novel of Poland, Sweden, and Russia. 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
A Dutch ship’s doctor who met him in the 1750s reported that he had earned a reputation there for sagacity and soothsaying.
From Slate ● Sep. 14, 2018
At least this is definitive proof that The Post doesn’t pay me for soothsaying.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 22, 2017
Honestly, there was so much loudmouthed soothsaying that it was hard to tell who was saying what.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 21, 2016
“Madame Ionesco, if a person—two persons to be precise—are not actually dead, but merely absent, would your soothsaying powers still enable you to send them a message?”
From "The Unseen Guest" 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.
