to foretell

Examples

• All

• A Navajo prophecy foretells the Din way of life transforming into another culture.

  Academic text (2008)

• Now Chris is one of quite a lot of people who claim that their dreams foretell future events.

• I can't foretell the future.

  Black Rainbow (1989)

• Daphnis was a lovely girl, and some said she could foretell the future.

  Fiction book (1997)

• Beijing's attitude on this may foretell where China will stand as a future leader in world affairs.

  Academic text (2002)

• Now a few voices proclaim "the end of nature" and others foretell such a destiny.

  Academic text (1993)

• Your arrival was foretold many moons ago.

  The Secret Kingdom (2023)

• Revolution, the necessity of which the Bolsheviks have foretold for such a long time, has finally taken place!

  Academic text (2008)

• Most noted is Woodpecker, an oracle who foretells good or bad fortune.

  Academic text (1998)

• Debates over why the Soviet Union's breakup was not foretold by experts in the United States continued throughout the 1990s.

  Academic text (2010)

Synonyms

P

to predict

vsto foretell

812 3.0

To say what will happen in the future

often uses signs or special knowledge rather than general information

A

to anticipate

vsto foretell

109 3.2

To expect that something will happen

often depends on signs or special knowledge rather than mere expectation

F

to foresee

vsto foretell

77 3.9

To know or expect something before it happens

often uses signs or special knowledge rather than mere expectation

F

to forecast

vsto foretell

54 2.5

To say what will probably happen using information, for example about weather or business

leans more on omens or special knowledge than on technical estimation

A

to announce

vsto foretell

38 3.9

To show that something will happen soon, often by a sign you notice

is more about private signs or special knowledge than public declarations

P

to prophesy

vsto foretell

28 7.4

To say what will happen in the future, often claiming it comes from a god

uses signs or omens and special knowledge rather than direct divine inspiration

B

to bode

vsto foretell

16 7.2

To be a sign that something good or bad will happen

also covers stating future events using special knowledge not only silent omens

F

to foreshadow

vsto foretell

16 6.2

To give a small sign that something will happen in the future

often relies on signs or secret knowledge rather than just subtle hints

P

to portend

vsto foretell

• Formal

13 8.4

To show that something, often bad, will probably happen

can refer to neutral or good events as well not just disasters

P

to presage

vsto foretell

• Literature

5 8.8

To show that something bad will happen

can include deliberate verbal claims based on special knowledge not only signs

T

to tell fortunes

vsto foretell

4 7.6

Say what will happen to someone by reading palms, cards, or tea leaves

involves specific ritual methods like cards or palms rather than broad signs

A

to augur

vsto foretell

4 8.6

To be a sign that something will happen

can be a spoken claim using special knowledge rather than only being a sign

P

to prognosticate

vsto foretell

• Formal

3 9.3

To say what will happen in the future using clues

often relies on omens or special knowledge rather than only evidence

P

to prefigure

vsto foretell

• Literature

1 8.0

To be a sign that something will happen later

tends to be an explicit statement using signs or special knowledge

B

to betoken

vsto foretell

• Archaic

1 9.3

To be a sign of something

also includes active claims or revelations based on special knowledge

V

to vaticinate

vsto foretell

• Archaic

9.9

To say what will happen in the future because someone has spiritual power

leans on signs or omens and special knowledge rather than direct divine voice

F

to foreshow

vsto foretell

• Archaic

9.9

Predict an event from a sign or dream

often relies on signs or special knowledge rather than only divine inspiration

A

to auspicate

vsto foretell

• Archaic

9.9

To say what will happen by reading signs

can also include special knowledge or spoken claims not only physical signs

A

to annunciate

vsto foretell

• Literature

9.9

To show that something will happen soon

is used for signs or omens rather than making direct spoken claims

F

to forebode

vsto foretell

8.4

To seem to show that something bad will happen

is broader and can apply to any future sign not only bad ones

P

to previse

vsto foretell

• Archaic

9.9

To know something before it happens

often uses signs or special knowledge rather than only mental insight

How Certain

to prophesy

28 7.4

to forecast

54 2.5

to predict

812 3.0

to foretell

41 7.0

to speculate

254 4.8

guess

768 1.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology