prophetic

adjective pro·phet·ic \ prə-ˈfe-tik \

variants: or less commonly prophetical play \prə-ˈfe-ti-kəl\

|Updated on: 18 Jul 2018

Examples: prophetic in a Sentence

Definition of prophetic

1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of a prophet or prophecy

2 : foretelling events : predictive

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prophetically

play \prə-ˈfe-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

See prophetic defined for English-language learners

See prophetic defined for kids

Examples of prophetic in a Sentence

the prophetic books of the Old Testament
in retrospect, those lower-than-expected sales numbers were a prophetic indicator of the financial trouble the company would soon be in

Recent Examples of prophetic from the Web

In a prophetic profile in 1952, Karen and Maureen were featured in the pages of The San Diego Union's Parade magazine.

— sandiegouniontribune.com, "July 8, 1962: Susman triumphs at Wimbledon," 8 July 2018
Douglass was prophetic in foreseeing one of modern America’s most glaring problems — mass incarceration.

— robert newhouse, Teen Vogue, "Five Things You Didn’t Know about Frederick Douglass," 4 July 2018
This historical digression proved to be a prophetic guide to an as-yet-unimaginable future Trump presidency.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "The Genesis of Trump’s Family-Separation Policy," 22 June 2018
Compare this to the haftorah, the prophetic portion read this week.

— rabbi avi weiss, Jewish Journal, "Leaders must learn to keep their egos in check," 18 June 2018
Though prophetic in many ways, Barlow’s dreams of a borderless free and equal internet seem more impossible with each passing year.

— jesse jarnow, WIRED, "The Ghost of John Perry Barlow Lives in His Posthumous Memoir," 5 June 2018
Four years later, Posner’s prophetic warnings still weigh heavily upon countries where human rights are existentially challenged.

— chito gascon, Time, "What the Philippines Tells Us About the Broken Promises of Human Rights," 30 May 2018
Bishop Curry stands in the lineage of Black prophetic preachers like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Bookending his homily with Dr. King’s words, Bishop Curry reminded us that Black preachers have always challenged the world to be better.

— candice benbow, Glamour, "My Bishop, Most Rev. Michael Curry, Just Changed the History of Royal Weddings—Here's Why His Sermon Matters," 19 May 2018
The red t-shirts that canvassed the Toyota Center stands proved prophetic: Houston Strong indeed.

— sam amick, USA TODAY, "Rockets stuff Warriors in thrilling Game 5 to take 3-2 series lead," 24 May 2018

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