prophetic

adjective

pro·​phet·​ic prə-ˈfe-tik 

variants or less commonly prophetical

prə-ˈfe-ti-kəl 

1

: of, relating to, or characteristic of a prophet or prophecy

2

: foretelling events : predictive

prophetically

prə-ˈfe-ti-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Synonyms

• predictive

Examples of prophetic in a Sentence

the prophetic books of the Old Testament

in retrospect, those lower-than-expected sales numbers were a prophetic indicator of the financial trouble the company would soon be in

Recent Examples on the Web

Through this lens, Chu acknowledged his film is prophetic, but only because the underlying IP is prophetic. —Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 21 Nov. 2024

Still, the title proved prophetic, as Give was the Kinks’ third consecutive gold album in America. —Al Shipley, SPIN, 29 Sep. 2024

George Orwell’s 1984 (published in 1949) proved prophetic as book bans consumed the nation under Reagan’s repressive regime. —Brea Baker, refinery29.com, 25 Sep. 2024

The flag, indeed, proved prophetic as Juda, 23, gave a stellar performance in his Olympic debut Saturday, earning himself a spot in the individual all-around finals. —Stacy St. Clair, Chicago Tribune, 27 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English prophetyk, borrowed from Middle French & Late Latin; Middle French prophetique, borrowed from Late Latin prophēticus, borrowed from Greek prophētikós, from prophḗtēs prophet + -ikos -ic entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

prophetic

adjective

pro·​phet·​ic prə-ˈfet-ik 

variants or prophetical

-ˈfet-i-kəl 

: of or relating to a prophet or prophecy

prophetically

-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb