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 of prophetic

• 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

The layoffs meant no work for her, her boyfriend and her mother — and the words in small print almost seemed prophetic. — ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026

Not to toot my own horn, but that is looking downright prophetic four games into the 2026 season. — Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 29 Sep. 2026

In that sense, Chase’s article, written more than a year before September 11, 2001, has a certain prophetic ring to it. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2026

But Weiss’ premonitions about what was ahead now certainly seem prophetic at the time. — Chad Bishop, AJC.com, 21 Sep. 2026

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