Synonyms of foretell

foretell

verb

fȯr-ˈtel 

as in to predict

to tell of or describe beforehand

a 16th-century astrologer who, some claim, accurately foretold 20th-century events

Synonyms & Similar Words

• predict
• read
• presage
• anticipate
• prognosticate
• prophesy
• forecast
• augur
• warn
• announce
• foresee
• call
• portend
• promise
• forewarn
• bode
• vaticinate
• alert
• forebode
• declare
• divine
• proclaim
• herald
• caution
• foreknow

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• tell
• describe
• relate
• report
• narrate
• recite
• recount

Synonym Chooser

How is the word foretell different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of foretell are forecast, predict, prognosticate, and prophesy. While all these words mean "to tell beforehand," foretell applies to the telling of the coming of a future event by any procedure or any source of information.

seers foretold the calamity

How do forecast and predict relate to one another, in the sense of foretell?

Forecast adds the implication of anticipating eventualities and differs from predict in being usually concerned with probabilities rather than certainties.

forecast snow

In what contexts can predict take the place of foretell?

The words predict and foretell are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, predict commonly implies inference from facts or accepted laws of nature.

astronomers predicted an eclipse

How does the word prognosticate relate to other synonyms for foretell?

Prognosticate is used less often than the other words; it may suggest learned or skilled interpretation, but more often it is simply a colorful substitute for predict or prophesy.

prognosticating the future

When is prophesy a more appropriate choice than foretell?

While the synonyms prophesy and foretell are close in meaning, prophesy connotes inspired or mystic knowledge of the future especially as the fulfilling of divine threats or promises.

prophesying a new messiah

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of foretell

But before Othership and Akari Sauna, the 1970 film Deep End foretold this trend in a much creepier and surrealist manner. —Air Mail, 28 Mar. 2026

Their four-volume distillation of all aspects of the Pittsburgh economy foretold the decline the region would face due to the shifting economic geography of the steel industry and Pittsburgh’s extreme lack of industrial diversification – things local leaders commonly saw as strengths. —Christopher Briem, The Conversation, 25 Mar. 2026

But as the season begins, the models cannot foretell which players will get hurt, which will get traded, which pitchers will alter their mixes, which hitters will develop new approaches or swings. —Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2026

In the coming months, First Proof and other AI benchmarks might help foretell the still-hazy fate of mathematics—a tiny niche of the scientific world that suddenly has some of the Earth’s wealthiest eyes trained upon it. —Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 16 Mar. 2026