predict

predict
—predictable, adj. —predictability, n. —predictably, adv.
/pri dikt"/, v.t.
1. to declare or tell in advance; prophesy; foretell: to predict the weather; to predict the fall of a civilization.
v.i.
2. to foretell the future; make a prediction.
[1540-50; < L praedictus, ptp. of praedicere to foretell, equiv. to prae- PRE- + dic-, var. s. of dicere to say + -tus ptp. suffix; see DICTUM]
Syn. 1, 2. presage, divine, augur, project, prognosticate, portend. PREDICT, PROPHESY, FORESEE, FORECAST mean to know or tell (usually correctly) beforehand what will happen. To PREDICT is usually to foretell with precision of calculation, knowledge, or shrewd inference from facts or experience: The astronomers can predict an eclipse; it may, however, be used without the implication of underlying knowledge or expertise: I predict she'll be a success at the party. PROPHESY usually means to predict future events by the aid of divine or supernatural inspiration: Merlin prophesied the two knights would meet in conflict; this verb, too, may be used in a more general, less specific sense. I prophesy he'll be back in the old job.
To FORESEE refers specifically not to the uttering of predictions but to the mental act of seeing ahead; there is often (but not always) a practical implication of preparing for what will happen: He was clever enough to foresee this shortage of materials. FORECAST has much the same meaning as PREDICT; it is used today particularly of the weather and other phenomena that cannot easily be accurately predicted: Rain and snow are forecast for tonight. Economists forecast a rise in family income.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • predict — pre‧dict [prɪˈdɪkt] verb [transitive] to say what you think will happen: • Wall Street had been predicting a quarterly profit of 5 cents per share. predict that • Economists are predicting that growth will slow. • Unemployment is predicted to… …   Financial and business terms

  • Predict — Pre*dict , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Predicted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Predicting}.] [L. praedictus, p. p. of praedicere to predict; prae before + dicere to say, tell. See {Diction}, and cf. {Preach}.] To tell or declare beforehand; to foretell; to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Predict — Pre*dict , n. A prediction. [Obs.] Shak. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • predict — I verb adumbrate, advise, announce in advance, anticipate, augur, auspicate, betoken, bode, divine, envision, forebode, forecast, foreknow, foresee, foreshadow, foreshow, forespeak, foretell, foretoken, forewarn, give notice, herald, indicate,… …   Law dictionary

  • predict — (v.) 1620s, foretell, prophesy, from L. praedicatus, pp. of praedicere foretell, advise, give notice, from prae before (see PRE (Cf. pre )) + dicere to say (see DICTION (Cf. diction)). Scientific sense of to have as a deducible consequence is… …   Etymology dictionary

  • predict — *foretell, forecast, prophesy, prognosticate, augur, presage, portend, forebode Analogous words: *foresee, foreknow, divine: *warn, forewarn, caution: surmise, Conjecture, guess …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • predict — [v] express an outcome in advance adumbrate, anticipate, augur, be afraid, call, call it, conclude, conjecture, croak, crystal ball* divine, envision, figure, figure out, forebode, forecast, foresee, forespeak, foretell, gather, guess, have a… …   New thesaurus

  • predict — ► VERB ▪ state that (a specified event) will happen in the future. DERIVATIVES predictive adjective predictor noun. ORIGIN Latin praedicere make known beforehand, declare …   English terms dictionary

  • predict — [prē dikt′, pridikt′] vt., vi. [< L praedictus, pp. of praedicere < prae , before (see PRE ) + dicere, to tell: see DICTION] to say in advance (what one believes will happen); foretell (a future event or events) predictability n.… …   English World dictionary

  • predict — verb ADVERB ▪ correctly, reliably, successfully ▪ incorrectly, wrongly ▪ accurately, exactly, precisely, with accura …   Collocations dictionary

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