prognosticate
verb
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Prognosticate, which ultimately traces back to the Greek word prognōstikos (“knowing beforehand, prescient”), first appears in English during the 15th century. Since that time, prognosticate has been connected with things that foreshadow events to come and with people who can prophesy or predict the future by such signs. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley used the “prophesy” sense of prognosticate in her Gothic horror novel Frankenstein as Victor Frankenstein writes of his feelings upon approaching Geneva: “I wept like a child. ‘Dear mountains! my own beautiful lake! how do you welcome your wanderer? Your summits are clear; the sky and lake are blue and placid. Is this to prognosticate peace, or to mock at my unhappiness?’” Other English words stitched together from prognōstikos that you may be familiar with include the nouns prognostic and prognosis, which also have senses related to foretelling. Prognostic can mean “prophecy,” while prognosis—used often in medical contexts to refer to the prospect of a patient’s recovery—can also mean “forecast.”
Examples of prognosticate in a Sentence
Jon Wilner, Mercury News, 31 Mar. 2025
Most other publications didn’t even bother prognosticating.
—Dan Freedman, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
Utah The Hotline undoubtedly has a more optimistic view of Utah’s prospects than most others in the prognosticating business.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 28 Jan. 2025
That hasn’t stopped our stalwart insiders from viewing them and preferentially voting in 10 Oscar categories (most points for most likely, or most hoped for, to succeed) for your prognosticating pleasure.
—Michael Ordoña, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for prognosticate
Cite this Entry
“Prognosticate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prognosticate. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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prognosticate
transitive verb
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