prognostication

noun prog·nos·ti·ca·tion \ (ˌ)präg-ˌnäs-tə-ˈkā-shən \

Definition of prognostication

1 :an indication in advance :foretoken

2 a :an act, the fact, or the power of prognosticating :forecast

b :foreboding

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Examples of prognostication in a Sentence

the complete fulfillment of his prognostication surprised even him
at the sight of the brooding mansion, her prognostications of ill fortune grew stronger

Recent Examples of prognostication from the Web

SA: So give us your prognostications for all of the state college football teams this year.

— mike bianchi, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Garnet and bold: FSU will win national title; Jameis Winston will be MVP," 26 Aug. 2017
More 2018 prognostication: The Cook Political Report released its monthly projections for next year's crop of U.S. Senate races on Thursday.

— andrew j. tobias, cleveland.com, "Cleveland Clinic ends association with Trump's Mar-a-Lago: Ohio Politics Roundup," 18 Aug. 2017
Those prognostications never materialized, and in light of the NBA’s ruling, Mayo has taken a step back from the game.

— matt giles, Longreads, "Where In the World is O.J. Mayo?," 12 Aug. 2017
There can be only one, goes this line of prognostication.

— matt peckham, Time, "Metroid: Samus Returns Is Exactly the Metroid the 3DS Needs," 27 June 2017
There was one big trade — with Jimmy Butler going from the Chicago Bulls to the Minnesota Timberwolves — but otherwise the draft played out very much like it was supposed to according to most prior prognostications.

— tim bontemps, chicagotribune.com, "Winners (Knicks) and losers (Bulls) from the 2017 NBA draft," 23 June 2017
That makes prognostication an exercise in vote counting, not legal analysis.

— charlie savage, New York Times, "Trump, Comey and Obstruction of Justice: A Primer," 8 June 2017
It’s no surprise to hear doom-and-gloom prognostications about the likelihood that Senate Republicans will pass legislation to replace the Affordable Care Act.

— russell berman, The Atlantic, "Are Senate Republicans Really Doomed on Health Care?," 7 June 2017
Console sales have in general outperformed the most buoyant analyst and pundit prognostications.

— matt peckham, Time, "Everything Sony Told Us About the Future of PlayStation," 5 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'prognostication.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of prognostication

15th century

prognostication Synonyms

Synonyms

auguring, augury, bodement, cast, forecast, forecasting, foretelling, predicting, presaging, prognosis, prognostic, prognosticating, prediction, prophecy (also prophesy), soothsaying, vaticination

Related Words

foreboding, harbinger, omen, portent, prevision, prospectus, sign; anticipation, foreknowledge; foresight; conjecture, guess, surmise

PROGNOSTICATION Defined for English Language Learners

prognostication

noun

Definition of prognostication for English Language Learners

: a statement about what is going to happen in the future

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prognostication

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prognostication

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