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 But ask it to explain why a person is pacing nervously near a fence, or predict what might happen next in a crowded room — and suddenly, the illusion of intelligence falls apart. Kolawole Samuel Adebayo, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025 Many commentators are already predicting a Versant-Global Networks merger. Max Goldbart, Deadline, 13 June 2025 There's no way to predict how future generations may view grief tech. ArsTechnica, 13 June 2025 Houser predicted that soldiers could soon begin handling arrests. Andrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for predict
Recent Examples of Synonyms for predict
Verb
  • November 18 will also see Simon & Schuster release an unabridged audiobook of 2004’s Chronicles: Volume One, read by Sean Penn.
    Walden Green, Pitchfork, 25 June 2025
  • On average, a kid who reads off of Kindle Kids will read at least an hour a day.
    Josh Weiss, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025
Verb
  • The National Retail Federation also anticipated skyrocketing prices on clothing, household appliances, furniture and more.
    Dryden Pence, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025
  • Organizers anticipate that the immigration enforcement and Trump's response to largely peaceful protests by bringing in the military is a pivot point that will bring new people to the streets June 14.
    Sarah D. Wire, USA Today, 13 June 2025
Verb
  • Those who knew him before the bombings could not have foretold his devotion to North Korea.
    E. Tammy Kim, New Yorker, 16 June 2025
  • That marvelous lighted scene, foretelling the end of Europe’s deadliest period, has stayed with me all these years.
    Si Liberman, Sun Sentinel, 7 May 2025
Verb
  • The notice is put into effect when the heat index is forecast at above 95 degrees for three or more days in a row.
    Alana Wise, NPR, 20 June 2025
  • Erick was forecast to reach major hurricane strength late Wednesday near the coast and is then expected to move inland.
    Luis Alberto Cruz, Chicago Tribune, 19 June 2025
Verb
  • The International Atomic Energy Agency has previously warned that bombing active enrichment sites, particularly Fordow, could pose environmental and health risks.
    Brian Bennett, Time, 22 June 2025
  • Newsom, for his part, has also warned that California won’t be the last state to see troops in the streets if Trump gets his way.
    Sara Braun, Fortune, 21 June 2025
Verb
  • But our sorry showing in the early rounds undercuts any claim to prognosticating success.
    Jon Wilner, Mercury News, 31 Mar. 2025
  • Most other publications didn’t even bother prognosticating.
    Dan Freedman, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • The eurozone, for example, has made little progress in recent years toward greater economic and financial integration, and its core economies have taken a populist, rightward turn, presaging political instability.
    ESWAR PRASAD, Foreign Affairs, 23 May 2025
  • The mixed messaging would presage his style as a pontiff whose doctrinal conservatism would blend with increasingly progressive public statements.
    Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 21 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The reveal on Tuesday, which CMO Marian Lee announced at Cannes Lions, represent the first substantive details about the venues since they were announced just under a year ago.
    Brian Welk, IndieWire, 17 June 2025
  • Their first product is expected to be announced later this year.
    Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 17 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Predict.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predict. Accessed 28 Jun. 2025.

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