prophetic

adjective

pro·​phet·​ic prə-ˈfe-tik 

variants or less commonly prophetical

prə-ˈfe-ti-kəl 

1

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

2

: foretelling events : predictive

prophetically

prə-ˈfe-ti-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Synonyms

• predictive

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 on the Web

Eddington contains a number of images, story points and themes that struck a chord at the time of its theatrical release in July 2025, but a number of them have proven to be quite prophetic of more recent events within America’s fraught political landscape. —Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 10 Oct. 2025

In its choice to honor his prophetic body of work, the Nobel committee has broadcast a reminder that the political relevance of art lies, paradoxically, in its sense of feeling apart from time. —Walt Hunter, The Atlantic, 9 Oct. 2025

The words turned out to be prophetic. —Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Sep. 2025

Le Bon strikes me as similarly prophetic. —Rumaan Alam, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English prophetyk, borrowed from Middle French & Late Latin; Middle French prophetique, borrowed from Late Latin prophēticus, borrowed from Greek prophētikós, from prophḗtēs prophet + -ikos -ic entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for prophetic

• acetic
• aesthetic
• ascetic
• athletic
• cosmetic
• diegetic
• eidetic
• emetic
• esthetic
• frenetic
• genetic
• helvetic

Kids Definition

prophetic

adjective

pro·​phet·​ic prə-ˈfet-ik 

variants or prophetical

-ˈfet-i-kəl 

: of or relating to a prophet or prophecy

prophetically

-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb