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

What these changes bode for the business side is another matter altogether—one outside the control of crews and, for that matter, outside the prophetic purview of critics. —Richard Brody, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026

That proved to be prophetic, and the winner of Saturday’s early game will face the winner of Arizona-Michigan in Monday night’s national championship game. —Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 3 Apr. 2026

Another prophetic comment from Verstappen came a year earlier. —Luke Smith, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2026

Rushen’s Sunday in Monterey made Lyons look prophetic. —Matthew Ritchie, Pitchfork, 22 Mar. 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