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 The results: the cube looked twisted and the sphere's North Pole was in a different location—a demonstration of the rotational effect predicted back in 1959. DOI: Communications Physics, 2025. ArsTechnica, 31 May 2025 Joy Taylor Puts Steelers, Aaron Rodgers on Blast Even his former head coach with the Green Bay Packers, Matt LaFleur, has predicted that Rodgers will sign with and play for Pittsburgh. Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 May 2025 His market is difficult to predict after a season disrupted by injuries. Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 30 May 2025 Ultimately, the company’s ambition is to build a computational model that captures the behaviours of every molecule inside a living cell and to predict how each of these molecules will change with health, disease or exposure to drugs. David Prosser, Forbes.com, 20 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for predict
Recent Examples of Synonyms for predict
Verb
  • As a result, the surface of the land and sea is an open book that anyone with an internet connection can read to the point where the embarrassing launch failure of a North Korean frigate is instantly world news instead of a vague rumor.
    David Szondy May 31, New Atlas, 31 May 2025
  • What great fun to read about Monty and Rose, Searocket and Imani, Sage, Uncle Larry, Pepper and Blaze, just to name a few, and actually see photos of them, courtesy of skilled photojournalists.
    Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 31 May 2025
Verb
  • That’s the threshold where extreme heat, storms, and droughts become more intense, more frequent, and more challenging to anticipate using outdated models built on decades of relatively stable climate risk trends.
    Michael Sheldrick, Forbes.com, 1 June 2025
  • Wind gusts of up to 40 mph and marble-sized hail (0.5 inches) are anticipated.
    KANSAS CITY STAR WEATHER BOT, Kansas City Star, 1 June 2025
Verb
  • But is the past foolproof in foretelling the future?
    Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 17 May 2025
  • Ultimately, lawyers can’t foretell what will happen at the airport, Oza said.
    Makiya Seminera, Los Angeles Times, 5 May 2025
Verb
  • While the promise of forecasting customer behavior, optimizing operations and boosting efficiency was clear, the reality was often out of reach for most businesses.
    Zohar Bronfman, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025
  • At the end of April, a report from Oxford Economics forecast that U.S. industrial output would shrink by 0.8 percent between 2025 and 2026 as a direct result of the tariffs.
    James Bickerton, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 May 2025
Verb
  • Landsbergis’ own Plan B starts with his home region, the Baltic countries, which have been among the most stalwart in warning the world about Russian aggression and providing aid for Ukraine.
    Tamar Jacoby, Forbes.com, 28 May 2025
  • Bolden, who’d warned about lax security practices around President John F. Kennedy, was charged in 1964 with attempting to sell a copy of a Secret Service file to a ring of counterfeiters.
    Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 28 May 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 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
  • Dolan’s timidity in February presaged the decision of the bishops’ conference to wind down the refugee program in April, apparently without any attempt to sustain it independently.
    Paul Elie, New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The impending launch, which SpaceX officially announced on Friday, May 23 a day after getting key regulatory approval, could be visible halfway around the world as the 400-foot vehicle soars on a suborbital trajectory.
    Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 25 May 2025
  • Screen was first to report this news and announced that the power outage is currently affecting a large area of the Alpes-Maritime region.
    Maelle Beauget-Uhl, Forbes.com, 24 May 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Predict.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predict. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on predict

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!