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 of predictive

• prophetic
• sinister

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

The proliferation of predictive market platforms is misleading Americans, particularly our youth, to conflate investing and online sports betting. —Mick Mulvaney, Fortune, 19 Mar. 2026

As the system grows increasingly confident in its predictive logic, a conflict emerges between an AI that relies on statistical certainty and humans who resist surrendering moral judgment to algorithms. —Lin Ying-Hsuan, Variety, 18 Mar. 2026

By automating complex resource management and enabling real-time data processing at scale, AI makes the cloud more efficient, predictive, and indispensable for virtually all industries. —Marc Saltzman, USA Today, 18 Mar. 2026

There is no clean predictive model for it because there is no real equivalent. —Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 18 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1637, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for predictive

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