predictive

adjective

pre·​dic·​tive pri-ˈdik-tiv 

1

: of, relating to, or usable or valuable for prediction

predictive medical factors

2

: based on or generated by using methods of prediction

predictive models

predictive text

Usually predictive policing refers to feeding reams of city data into a computer and dispatching extra officers to areas that are deemed to be at high risk of future crime.

—Leon Neyfakh

predictively adverb

Like an astrological chart, it can be made to fit any case, and it works better retrospectively than predictively.

—Carol Tavris

Synonyms

• prophetic
• sinister
• prophetical

Examples of predictive in a Sentence

unfortunately, the stock market crash of 1929 turned out to be a predictive event, for the next decade was consumed by the Great Depression

Recent Examples on the Web

These advances will improve predictive models that guide response efforts during fires. —Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 3 Sep. 2025

These aren’t transactional breadcrumbs—they’re predictive signals that illuminate what’s next. —Gary Drenik, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025

The similarity between the two groups strengthens the case for using TMAO as a predictive measure to identify people most at risk of developing this serious condition. —New Atlas, 30 Aug. 2025

Adapted from a French bestseller, the dystopian thriller imagines a near-future Paris in which neighborhoods have been divided up into zones based on social class, with a police force operating under the command of ALMA, a predictive AI system (voiced, in the film, by an actual AI system). —Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 29 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1637, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for predictive

• addictive
• constrictive
• restrictive
• vindictive
• fictive
• magnetostrictive