Synonyms of prophesy

prophesy

verb

ˈprä-fə-ˌsī 

as in to predict

to tell of or describe beforehand

holy men were prophesying the coming of a new messiah

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Synonym Chooser

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

Some common synonyms of prophesy are forecast, foretell, predict, and prognosticate. While all these words mean "to tell beforehand," prophesy connotes inspired or mystic knowledge of the future especially as the fulfilling of divine threats or promises.

prophesying a new messiah

How are the words forecast and predict related as synonyms of prophesy?

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

forecast snow

When is foretell a more appropriate choice than prophesy?

The words foretell and prophesy can be used in similar contexts, but foretell applies to the telling of the coming of a future event by any procedure or any source of information.

seers foretold the calamity

When can predict be used instead of prophesy?

The meanings of predict and prophesy largely overlap; however, 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 prophesy?

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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of prophesy

O'Neill and Beausoleil both think Bugliosi's theory about Manson wanting a race war is bunk According to Bugliosi, Kay, and Helter Skelter's narrative, Manson used popular music and the Book of Revelations to prophesy a war between the Black and white races. —Randall Colburn, EW.com, 8 Mar. 2025

According to Simpsons scribe Mike Scully, there wasn’t any deliberate prophesying going on in the writers room back then. —Benjamin Svetkey and Julian Sancton, HollywoodReporter, 16 Apr. 2025

Ministers, priests, and laypeople embraced this reinvention, as popular practices such as healings, prophesying, speaking in tongues, and performing miracles became hallmarks of a new era of Catholicism. —Chayenne Polimédio, Foreign Affairs, 7 Mar. 2019

Ezekiel did his prophesying from exile before and after the destruction of the First Temple in the Babylonian conquest of 586 B.C.E., another defining cataclysm in Jewish history. —Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 16 Mar. 2025