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

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

For millennia, curious souls have examined a range of worldly phenomena, from the palm of the hand to moldy cheese, to prophesy supernatural knowledge about their fates. —Isabela Raygoza, Billboard, 25 Aug. 2025

Philosophers once prophesied that evolution would lead to minds far greater — and stranger — than our own. —Thomas Moynihan, Big Think, 20 Aug. 2025

These narratives do not prophesy circuits but diagnose hubris, displacement, and the fragile hinge between aspiration and catastrophe. —Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 15 Aug. 2025

Sugar Mountain Ski Resort hosts an Oktoberfest the weekend of October 11 to 12 this year, and the annual Woolly Warm Festival, which has a caterpillar race that prophesies the length of winter, runs October 18 and 19. —Graham Averill, Outside Online, 12 Sep. 2023