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fortune teller

fortune teller

16 3.5
A person who claims to tell the future using cards or palm reading
  • noun
  • /ˈfɔːrtʃən ˈtɛlər/
translation icon : adivino
  • I visited a fortune teller who predicted I would have great success in my career.

And, you know, as tradition dictates, a lot of people go see fortune tellers.

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Examples

  • The fortune teller followed my lead and described my future love as looking just like Nina.

  • Much to Quick's dismay, the fortune teller divined that he would soon meet a woman with whom he would have an amorous affair.

    Academic text (2007)
  • Run back and give the fortune-teller this message:

  • You want to go see a fortune teller?

  • You went to a fortune teller or something?

  • Angel said the police found Grandpa in a fortune-teller's shop.

  • Ashley wants to be a fortune-teller.

  • Nick said, "What I mean is, I'm not exactly a fortune-teller."

    Fiction book (2002)
  • You don't need a fortune teller.

  • People tell me you're some kind of fortune-teller.

    Fiction book (2002)

Synonyms

psychic
vsfortune teller
208 7.3

A person who says they can know things beyond normal senses, like predicting the future

focuses on claiming to tell an individual's future using concrete mystical methods
seer
vsfortune teller
23 8.0

A person who says they can see the future

is a less spiritual, more hands-on claim using ordinary divination tools
astrologer
vsfortune teller
15 7.9

A person who says the Sun, Moon, and planets show your future

includes other mystical techniques beyond interpreting planets for personal futures
soothsayer
vsfortune teller
  • Archaic
9 9.9

A person who says they can tell the future

is a more casual, often practical claim using simple mystical tools
clairvoyant
vsfortune teller
9 9.5

A person who says they can see events before they happen

uses external mystical tools and practices rather than inner perception
prognosticator
vsfortune teller
8 9.5

A person who predicts future events using knowledge or signs

focuses on intimate personal future predictions with mystical tools rather than data
fortuneteller
vsfortune teller
4 6.5

A person who says they can see someone's future, often using cards or palm reading

is written as a single compound word rather than two words
diviner
vsfortune teller
3 9.9

A person who says they can learn hidden things or predict the future using spiritual ways

focuses specifically on predicting an individual's future with mystical tools
predictor
vsfortune teller
2 4.4

A person who says what will happen using knowledge or data

is not data based but relies on claimed mystical signs and tools
astrologist
vsfortune teller
2 7.8

A person who says what will happen by looking at the sun, moon, and planets

is a wider term covering multiple common mystical methods, not only astrology
palmist
vsfortune teller
1 9.2

A person who reads lines on a hand to tell the future

is broader, using many mystical methods not only palm reading
seeress
vsfortune teller
  • Literature
1 9.9

A woman who says she can see the future

is the gender neutral term for similar claiming predictive activity
farseer
vsfortune teller
  • Literature
1 9.9

A person who says what will happen in the future

is focused on claimed mystical tools rather than learned skill or analysis
palmister
vsfortune teller
  • UK
9.9

A person who reads the lines on your palm to tell your future

is more general, using varied mystical tools beyond hand interpretation
chiromancer
vsfortune teller
9.9

A person who reads the lines on someone's palm to predict their future

focuses on broader divination practices rather than only reading palms
oneiromancer
vsfortune teller
  • Literature
9.9

A person who says they can tell the future from dreams

uses other external methods like cards or palms rather than dream signs
prophesier
vsfortune teller
9.1

A person who predicts future events

is a less formal, more ordinary claim using tools rather than authority
vaticinator
vsfortune teller
  • Archaic
9.9

A person who says what will happen in the future, often as a job

tends to be a casual personal claim using divination objects rather than professional authority

How Credible

prophet
39 5.1
oracle
  • Literature
14 8.9
seer
23 8.0
fortune teller
16 3.5
charlatan
  • Offensive
38 8.6

Surface Forms

Morphology

fortune + teller

The meaning is compositionally built from 'fortune' (one's fate or future) + 'teller' (one who tells), so a learner who knows both words can infer 'a person who tells/predicts fortunes'. The agentive noun formation and the cross-linguistic existence of equivalent constructions make this readily understandable at B1.

Etymology

The noun fortune teller comes from a simple image: a teller looking at cards, tea leaves or a palm and 'telling' a person's fortune, meaning their future. So, the term now means someone who claims 'to predict the future'.