predict

Synonym Chooser

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

Some common synonyms of predict are forecast, foretell, prognosticate, and prophesy. While all these words mean "to tell beforehand," predict commonly implies inference from facts or accepted laws of nature.

astronomers predicted an eclipse

How are the words forecast and predict related?

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

forecast snow

Where would foretell be a reasonable alternative to predict?

While the synonyms foretell and predict are close in meaning, 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 does the word prognosticate relate to other synonyms for predict?

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 can prophesy be used instead of predict?

The words prophesy and predict can be used in similar contexts, but prophesy connotes inspired or mystic knowledge of the future especially as the fulfilling of divine threats or promises.

prophesying a new messiah

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of predict By forcing a player to slowly deal with impossible-to-predict variables thrown at them, the CLA teaches them to execute under duress rather than flawlessly in a vacuum. Jared Weiss, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025 Davidson also predicted that Goggins could face a similar backlash. Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 29 Sep. 2025 Although hyperbolic, tech leaders such as Dario Amodei, founder and CEO of Anthropic, and Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, predict that AI will eliminate up to 50% of all entry-level white-collar jobs within one to five years. Toby Stuart, Time, 29 Sep. 2025 Alexander predicts the country’s population could fall by a further 2% this year. semafor.com, 29 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for predict
Recent Examples of Synonyms for predict
Verb
  • Its 93-page deregulatory manifesto reads like a wish list for turning passengers into powerless customers.
    Christopher Elliott, USA Today, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Boise State sacked Swann five times, and cornerback A’Marion McCoy victimized him with the first pick-six, reading a pass to the right flat perfectly to intercept it and returning it 26 yards untouched for a touchdown in the first half.
    Jim Keyser, Idaho Statesman, 28 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The owners anticipate the new Muskego location will open at the beginning of 2026, though an official date has not been set.
    Adrienne Davis, jsonline.com, 27 Sep. 2025
  • Residents can anticipate wind gusts of up to 50 mph.
    CA Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 27 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Todd's second-ever screen role foretold his future prominence, as the taciturn Sgt.
    Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 16 Sep. 2025
  • However, economists caution, the better-than-expected reading could be a sign of a slowing economy and that shrinking businesses’ margins could foretell higher prices for consumers in the near future.
    Alicia Wallace, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The disturbance is then forecast to tract northwestward over the southwestern Atlantic, officials said.
    Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 26 Sep. 2025
  • Most of Ohio is forecasted to have pleasantly warm daytime temperatures and cool evenings this weekend.
    Mariyam Muhammad, Cincinnati Enquirer, 26 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Passport services could also be delayed, the organization warned.
    Nathan Diller, USA Today, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Equity advocates warn that the expansion of microschools, especially those reliant on tuition or vouchers, could drain resources and diversity students from neighborhood public schools.
    Preston Fore, Fortune, 28 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • In the midst of the chaos, Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes has offered a brutal prediction as far as Tatum is concerned, prognosticating that the C's will never again win another title with the Duke product as their top option.
    Matthew Schmidt, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
  • Bank of America Securities analyst Robert Ohmes just downgraded Target from hold to sell, prognosticating another 10-15% share drop.
    Noah Barsky, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • One of Redford’s last screen roles, which presaged his retirement from acting in 2018, was as the career criminal Forrest Tucker in David Lowery’s The Old Man & the Gun.
    K. Austin Collins, The Atlantic, 16 Sep. 2025
  • Local officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony this morning at Philadelphia’s Calder Gardens, the new sanctuary honoring pathbreaking sculptor Alexander Calder, presaging its opening to the public, which is set for September 21.
    News Desk, Artforum, 15 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Any Mega Millions winners will be posted here once announced by lottery officials.
    Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 27 Sep. 2025
  • Xcel and plaintiffs’ attorneys announced the settlement Wednesday, just one day before the start of jury selection in a two-month civil trial to determine blame for the 2021 wildfire that killed two people and destroyed more than 1,000 homes in Boulder County.
    Noelle Phillips, Denver Post, 26 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Predict.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predict. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.

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