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

Somehow, after that, the story of a prophetic painter, who was tasked by the British Museum on this international hunt just…came fully formed. —Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 12 Dec. 2024

Hurst is an unhoused man with plenty of addictions but also a prophetic insight. —Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Dec. 2024

From the development of prophetic black hole visuals to revolutionary production design for IMAX, further context is provided by colleagues and fans including director Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings) and director Denis Villeneuve (Dune). —Tim Lammers, Forbes, 10 Dec. 2024

And John’s writing and Stephen (Trask)’s writing were so prophetic. —Chris Willman, Variety, 3 Dec. 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