foretell

transitive verb (foretold; -telling) Date: 14th century to tell beforehand ; predict • foreteller noun Synonyms: foretell, predict, forecast, prophesy, prognosticate mean to tell beforehand. foretell applies to the telling of the coming of a future event by any procedure or any source of information <

seers foretold the calamity

>. predict commonly implies inference from facts or accepted laws of nature <

astronomers predicted an eclipse

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

forecast snow

>. prophesy connotes inspired or mystic knowledge of the future especially as the fulfilling of divine threats or promises <

prophesying a new messiah

>. 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

>.