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

Meanwhile, the executive order on crime mobilizes federal, state and local agencies to use predictive analytics and AI to identify potential threats and maintain public order. —Kate Caldwell, Mercury News, 30 Sep. 2025

The past is not predictive on this one. —Philip Elliott, Time, 30 Sep. 2025

On the flip side, every new data point sharpens the predictive models guiding conservation, says Evgeny Zakharov, genomics director for the Center for Biodiversity Genomics. —Marion Renault, The Atlantic, 29 Sep. 2025

The hope is that by giving independent producers the same predictive edge as the streaming giants, more films will make it to larger audiences worldwide. —Justin Fenner, Robb Report, 29 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1637, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for predictive

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