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soothsaying

soothsaying

9.9
Saying what will happen in the future using signs or magic
  • noun
  • /ˈsuːθseɪɪŋ/
  • Archaic
translation icon : adivinación
  • She dismissed his soothsaying as mere superstition and preferred logical planning.

Examples

  • Soothsaying does not become you, Haman.

  • For visions of a clean energy future, brothers and sisters, look not to the soothsaying of thine experts.

    Blog text (10)
  • Though nostalgia can be wrong, it's still a better bet than the likely faultiness of cultural or even economic soothsaying.

    Blog text (25)
  • Around 1600 in England, it was reported that "among the common people, he is not adjudged any scholar at all, unless he can tell men's horoscopes, cast out devils, or hath some skills in soothsaying" (Thomas 1971, p. 227).

    Academic text (1992)
  • Many people visit fortune tellers for soothsaying to learn about their future.

  • Soothsaying has been practiced for centuries in various cultures around the world.

Synonyms

divination
vssoothsaying
8 9.9

The act of trying to find the future using magic or signs

is the general art of mystical future prediction rather than a single technique
fortune telling
vssoothsaying
5 5.8

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

is the wider mystical art, not limited to paid personal readings
necromancy
vssoothsaying
  • Specialized
3 9.9

Talking to dead people using magic to learn the future or change what will happen

is more general and does not require contact with the departed
foretelling
vssoothsaying
1 6.8

To say what will happen in the future

focuses on mystical or supernatural methods rather than plain prediction
fortunetelling
vssoothsaying
1 6.5

To tell someone about their future, often for money, for example using cards or reading palms

is the general practice of mystical future prediction, not focused on payment
vaticination
vssoothsaying
  • Archaic
9.9

A prediction of future events said to come from a god

is broader, covering mystical methods beyond only divine inspiration
star divination
vssoothsaying
9.9

To try to tell the future by reading where the sun, moon, and planets are

is not limited to celestial methods and includes other mystical practices
crystal-gazing
vssoothsaying
9.9

Predicting the future by looking into a crystal ball or guessing about the future without real proof

covers the whole mystical forecasting art, not only crystal use
sortilege
vssoothsaying
  • Archaic
9.9

To tell the future or choose by chance using small objects like stones

is broader, including many other mystical means beyond casting lots

How Prophetic

prophecy
142 6.2
oracle
  • Literature
8 9.1
soothsaying
  • Archaic
9.9
divination
8 9.9

Surface Forms

soothsaying singular
soothsayings plural

Morphology

soothsaying = soothsay (semi-transparent) = sooth + say + ing

Formed from sooth + say -> soothsay + -ing; the structure is regular but the element 'sooth' is archaic, so typical learners may not recover the meaning fully.

Etymology

Soothsaying starts with sooth, an old word meaning 'truth', plus saying, 'speaking'. So a soothsayer was a person who claimed to 'speak the truth' about the future, and that is why soothsaying means the practice of foretelling events today.