divination

American  

[div-uh-ney-shuhn] / ˌdɪv əˈneɪ ʃən /

noun

divinations plural

1. the practice of attempting to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge by occult or supernatural means.

2. augury; prophecy.

   The divination of the high priest was fulfilled.

3. perception by intuition; instinctive foresight.

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divination British  

/ ˌdɪvɪˈneɪʃən, dɪˈvɪnətərɪ, -trɪ /

noun

1. the art, practice, or gift of discerning or discovering future events or unknown things, as though by supernatural powers

2. a prophecy

3. a presentiment or guess

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• divinatory
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• divinations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of divination

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English divinacioun, from Anglo-French, from Latin dīvīnātiōn-, stem of dīvīnātiō, equivalent to dīvīnāt(us) “soothsaid” (past participle of dīvīnāre “to soothsay”; see divine) + -iō -ion

Explanation

The idea that you can see the future by supernatural means is called divination. When your friend tells your fortune by reading the tea leaves in your cup, she claims to have the power of divination. The prediction or prophecy itself that's given through the act of fortune telling is also called divination. A psychic's divination that your aunt will soon start a family is much less impressive if your aunt is obviously pregnant. You can also use divination to refer to someone's unusual intuition, like a child who seems to know by divination when someone is feeling sad or upset.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

divination divinations

A bewitching survey looks at the unexpected, centuries-old genesis of the divination cards, and the ways they endured and changed in the modern era.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026

Love yourself by letting go of what was, thankfully, never ours to control in the first place — the divine divination of love.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2026

The shamans, like the one seen in “Squid Game,” usually are mediators to the spirit world using divination or other rituals.

From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2025

Ancestral divination is imperative in order to get through to that, because they’re always there watching.

From New York Times ● Nov. 27, 2024

Then you sort through the results and determine the divination.

From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson

Muzi, a Taoist monk and sailmaker, joins the crew partway through the novel and guides the captain using divinations from the “I Ching,” something which the rest of the crew finds understandably strange.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 5, 2026

Mercury in retrograde was believed to impede such endeavors, as well as these astrologers’ divinations.

From National Geographic ● Aug. 24, 2023

Each village had several shamans, who specialized in various divinations, healings and funeral rites.

From Scientific American ● Jan. 5, 2023

This is always a busy time at the Club as we take turns peering into a fresh batch of election results and sharing our divinations.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 11, 2022

And as such it became liable to abuse; thus Hosea rebukes the chosen people for practising similar divinations.

From Curious Myths of the Middle Ages by Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)