predictive

adjective

pre·​dic·​tive pri-ˈdik-tiv 

1

: of, relating to, or usable or valuable for prediction

predictive medical factors

2

: based on or generated by using methods of prediction

predictive models

predictive text

Usually predictive policing refers to feeding reams of city data into a computer and dispatching extra officers to areas that are deemed to be at high risk of future crime.

—Leon Neyfakh

predictively adverb

Like an astrological chart, it can be made to fit any case, and it works better retrospectively than predictively.

—Carol Tavris

Synonyms

• prophetic
• prophetical

Examples of predictive in a Sentence

unfortunately, the stock market crash of 1929 turned out to be a predictive event, for the next decade was consumed by the Great Depression

Recent Examples on the Web

One of Thompson’s signature innovations was to use a predictive algorithm to kick ailing and disabled Medicare patients out of nursing homes and rehabilitative programs, causing untold misery and penury. —Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 13 Dec. 2024

To Schilling, Hill, and their colleagues, this means that although predictive deep learning programs have their uses, the burden of proof needs to be much more rigorous when using them in situations such as medical research. —Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 13 Dec. 2024

And the University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Energy Engineering just published a study arguing that AI models’ predictive abilities could significantly reduce the power consumption of complex HVAC systems, particularly those with both indoors and outdoor units. —Andrew R. Chow, TIME, 11 Dec. 2024

Blackwell wanted the predictive risk model to correct for the old tool’s error rate for clients of color. —Carly Stern, Vox, 6 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1637, in the meaning defined at sense 1