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foretelling

foretelling

1 6.8
To say what will happen in the future
  • noun
  • /fɔrˈtɛlɪŋ/
translation icon : predicción
  • The ancient scroll contained a foretelling of the kingdom's future.

Examples

  • She made a sound, staring at him, for he seemed, amid the light and stone and scattered crystals, another vision, a foretelling.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • You know, they say sometimes a dream might be a foretelling.

  • This is the foretelling of your arrival.

  • This is the truth about the world that we have created for ourselves and a dire foretelling of where we are going ...

    Blog text (27)
  • Her husband, King Laius, had received a prophecy from Apollo's Oracle foretelling that he would die at the hands of his own son.

  • 'The silence, an eerie foretelling of the destruction to come 'at one o'clock, the hour of doom!'

  • Many cultures have myths that include a foretelling of events that will shape their destinies.

  • She wrote down her dreams, believing they might hold a foretelling of what was to come.

Synonyms

prediction
vsforetelling
375 2.6

A guess about what will happen in the future based on facts or signs

is more general and can come from many sources not only evidence
prophecy
vsforetelling
142 6.2

A statement that predicts the future and comes from someone who says they know it

is a general act or statement that may not involve divine authority
forecasting
vsforetelling
18 3.7

Saying what will happen in the future using information

is broader and can include non analytical or supernatural ways of stating future events
prognostication
vsforetelling
8 9.3

A statement about what will happen in the future

is the general act of stating future events without specifying method
fortune telling
vsforetelling
5 5.8

A way of finding out what will happen to someone in the future using mysterious methods

is broader and applies to public events as well as personal future matters
prevision
vsforetelling
  • Archaic
9.6

Thinking about the future to plan for it

focuses on the act or statement rather than a general skill for future events
vaticination
vsforetelling
  • Archaic
9.9

A prediction of future events said to come from a god

is broader and can come from any source not only divine ones
soothsaying
vsforetelling
  • Archaic
9.9

Saying what will happen in the future using signs or magic

is the general act and can be based on many kinds of evidence or reason

Antonyms

738 1.0

An event that happens suddenly and is not expected

296 4.0

Not being sure about what will happen or what to do

How Certain

prophecy
142 6.2
forecast
197 1.8
prediction
375 2.6
foretelling
1 6.8
speculation
288 4.8
guess
768 1.0

Surface Forms

foretelling singular
foretellings plural

Morphology

foretelling = foretell (transparent) = fore + tell + ing

The verb 'foretell' is a clear combination of the productive prefix 'fore-' (before) and the verb 'tell', so adding '-ing' forms the noun meaning 'the act of predicting'.

Etymology

The word foretelling comes from the part fore- meaning 'before' and the verb tell meaning 'to say'. So foretelling is literally 'saying' something 'before' it happens, like a forecast, which is why it means predicting what will happen.