predict

Synonym Chooser

How is the word predict different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of predict are forecast, foretell, prognosticate, and prophesy. While all these words mean "to tell beforehand," predict commonly implies inference from facts or accepted laws of nature.

astronomers predicted an eclipse

How are the words forecast and predict related?

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

forecast snow

Where would foretell be a reasonable alternative to predict?

While the synonyms foretell and predict are close in meaning, foretell applies to the telling of the coming of a future event by any procedure or any source of information.

seers foretold the calamity

How does the word prognosticate relate to other synonyms for predict?

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

When can prophesy be used instead of predict?

The words prophesy and predict can be used in similar contexts, but prophesy connotes inspired or mystic knowledge of the future especially as the fulfilling of divine threats or promises.

prophesying a new messiah

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of predict The Congressional Budget Office predicts that should the bill pass, the poorest families would see a decrease in resources by about $1,600 a year, while the richest would gain about $12,000. Anna Chan, Billboard, 25 June 2025 Hentschel also predicted fewer new apartments will get built and that demand for commercial warehouse space will increase, pushing up rents. Jeff Collins, Oc Register, 25 June 2025 Social Security is expected to run short of funds earlier than predicted, and the ramifications will hurt young people the most. Brit Morse, Fortune, 24 June 2025 Prices could further spike, however, if Iran targets Saudi Arabia’s oil supplies or creates shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, through which almost 25% of total global oil consumption flows, with some experts predicting $100 oil per barrel. Mathias Hammer, semafor.com, 13 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for predict
Recent Examples of Synonyms for predict
Verb
  • November 18 will also see Simon & Schuster release an unabridged audiobook of 2004’s Chronicles: Volume One, read by Sean Penn.
    Walden Green, Pitchfork, 25 June 2025
  • On average, a kid who reads off of Kindle Kids will read at least an hour a day.
    Josh Weiss, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025
Verb
  • Attentive, Personalized Service From the moment guests arrive, attentive doormen and reception staff recognize them by name and go out of their way to anticipate and address their needs.
    Irene S. Levine, Forbes.com, 25 June 2025
  • Trade tensions could worsen and tariffs could escalate, some analysts said, while noting the difficulty of anticipating exactly where the levies will land.
    Max Zahn, ABC News, 25 June 2025
Verb
  • Those who knew him before the bombings could not have foretold his devotion to North Korea.
    E. Tammy Kim, New Yorker, 16 June 2025
  • That marvelous lighted scene, foretelling the end of Europe’s deadliest period, has stayed with me all these years.
    Si Liberman, Sun Sentinel, 7 May 2025
Verb
  • The notice is put into effect when the heat index is forecast at above 95 degrees for three or more days in a row.
    Alana Wise, NPR, 20 June 2025
  • That being said, geomagnetic storms have surprised us in the past, whereby forecasted G1 conditions jump to G2 or even G3.
    Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 19 June 2025
Verb
  • The International Atomic Energy Agency has previously warned that bombing active enrichment sites, particularly Fordow, could pose environmental and health risks.
    Brian Bennett, Time, 22 June 2025
  • Newsom, for his part, has also warned that California won’t be the last state to see troops in the streets if Trump gets his way.
    Sara Braun, Fortune, 21 June 2025
Verb
  • But our sorry showing in the early rounds undercuts any claim to prognosticating success.
    Jon Wilner, Mercury News, 31 Mar. 2025
  • Most other publications didn’t even bother prognosticating.
    Dan Freedman, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Yet the Foundling’s system was entirely presaged on the idea that some people’s origins need to be concealed.
    Time, Time, 28 May 2025
  • Those wins usually presage a best picture victory, especially because the producers guild uses a preferential ballot similar to the Academy’s.
    The Learning Network, New York Times, 19 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Cristian Romero has publicly flirted with the idea of moving on to play in Spain’s La Liga and posted praise for Postecoglou on Instagram shortly after Frank’s appointment was officially announced.
    Gregg Evans, New York Times, 17 June 2025
  • Beigel said the co-sponsors will be announced on Wednesday.
    Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 17 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Predict.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predict. Accessed 28 Jun. 2025.

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