predict

Synonym Chooser

How is the word predict different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of predict are forecast, foretell, prognosticate, and prophesy. While all these words mean "to tell beforehand," predict commonly implies inference from facts or accepted laws of nature.

astronomers predicted an eclipse

How are the words forecast and predict related?

Forecast adds the implication of anticipating eventualities and differs from predict in being usually concerned with probabilities rather than certainties.

forecast snow

Where would foretell be a reasonable alternative to predict?

While the synonyms foretell and predict are close in meaning, foretell applies to the telling of the coming of a future event by any procedure or any source of information.

seers foretold the calamity

How does the word prognosticate relate to other synonyms for predict?

Prognosticate is used less often than the other words; it may suggest learned or skilled interpretation, but more often it is simply a colorful substitute for predict or prophesy.

prognosticating the future

When can prophesy be used instead of predict?

The words prophesy and predict can be used in similar contexts, but prophesy connotes inspired or mystic knowledge of the future especially as the fulfilling of divine threats or promises.

prophesying a new messiah

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of predict The Congressional Budget Office predicts that should the bill pass, the poorest families would see a decrease in resources by about $1,600 a year, while the richest would gain about $12,000. Anna Chan, Billboard, 25 June 2025 Hentschel also predicted fewer new apartments will get built and that demand for commercial warehouse space will increase, pushing up rents. Jeff Collins, Oc Register, 25 June 2025 Social Security is expected to run short of funds earlier than predicted, and the ramifications will hurt young people the most. Brit Morse, Fortune, 24 June 2025 Prices could further spike, however, if Iran targets Saudi Arabia’s oil supplies or creates shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, through which almost 25% of total global oil consumption flows, with some experts predicting $100 oil per barrel. Mathias Hammer, semafor.com, 13 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for predict
Recent Examples of Synonyms for predict
Verb
  • But its recurring theme — Ed as a jealous interloper undermining owner Wilbur Post’s domestic life — can be read as a surreal meditation on masculinity, autonomy and repression in suburban America.
    Chris Reed, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 July 2025
  • Like in New York’s Central Park, locals love to bring a blanket and sprawl on the springy turf, canoodling, reading books, and snoozing beneath the skyline.
    Jessica Kozuka, Travel + Leisure, 6 July 2025
Verb
  • Attentive, Personalized Service From the moment guests arrive, attentive doormen and reception staff recognize them by name and go out of their way to anticipate and address their needs.
    Irene S. Levine, Forbes.com, 25 June 2025
  • Trade tensions could worsen and tariffs could escalate, some analysts said, while noting the difficulty of anticipating exactly where the levies will land.
    Max Zahn, ABC News, 25 June 2025
Verb
  • Bruckheimer is not one of the doomsayers foretelling the end of movies.
    Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2025
  • Those who knew him before the bombings could not have foretold his devotion to North Korea.
    E. Tammy Kim, New Yorker, 16 June 2025
Verb
  • See the current storms in the Atlantic System expected to form in the Pacific Meanwhile in the Pacific, a system offshore from southern Mexico is forecast to become a tropical depression or tropical storm by sometime on June 29, the hurricane center said.
    Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 29 June 2025
  • In addition, according to FactSet, technology sector earnings are expected to grow at 18% in 2025, while the S&P 500’s earnings are forecast to rise by about 9.1% year-over-year.
    Bill Stone, Forbes.com, 29 June 2025
Verb
  • Collins and Tillis have warned that the Medicaid and other cuts could leave large numbers of people in their state losing their health care coverage.
    Ted Johnson, Deadline, 1 July 2025
  • The Senate package would roll back billions of dollars in green energy tax credits, which Democrats warn will wipe out wind and solar investments nationwide.
    Jim Edwards, Fortune, 1 July 2025
Verb
  • But our sorry showing in the early rounds undercuts any claim to prognosticating success.
    Jon Wilner, Mercury News, 31 Mar. 2025
  • Most other publications didn’t even bother prognosticating.
    Dan Freedman, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Yet the Foundling’s system was entirely presaged on the idea that some people’s origins need to be concealed.
    Time, Time, 28 May 2025
  • Those wins usually presage a best picture victory, especially because the producers guild uses a preferential ballot similar to the Academy’s.
    The Learning Network, New York Times, 19 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Two more property insurers have been approved to serve Florida’s beleaguered homeowner market, the state Office of Insurance Regulation announced.
    Ron Hurtibise, Sun Sentinel, 29 June 2025
  • As of June 2025, sources told Variety that Netflix currently has no plans to announce a Squid Game spinoff.
    Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 29 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Predict.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predict. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.

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