foretell

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

Also spelled foretel

US /fɔrˈtɛl/ UK /fɔːˈtɛl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to predict or prophesy a future event

No one could foretell how swiftly the empire would crumble.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to predict or prophesy a... predict prophesy forecast presage prognosticate augur foresee portend

Word family

Derived forms foretellerforetelling

Related forms fore tell

Etymology

A compound of fore- ('beforehand') and tell (from Old English tellan 'to relate, count'), meaning to relate a future event in advance.

fore Old English tellan Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# foretell

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /fɔrˈtɛl/
**IPA (UK):** /fɔːˈtɛl/

## Meanings
1. to predict or prophesy a future event

## Examples
- No one could foretell how swiftly the empire would crumble.

## Synonyms
- predict
- prophesy
- forecast
- presage
- prognosticate
- augur
- foresee
- portend

## Derived Forms
- foreteller
- foretelling

## Related Forms
- fore
- tell

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: fore
- Root: tellan
- Affix: fore- - before

## Etymology
A compound of fore- ('beforehand') and tell (from Old English tellan 'to relate, count'), meaning to relate a future event in advance.

## AI Etymology
Foretell is a compound of fore- ('beforehand') and tell (from Old English tellan 'to relate, count'), meaning to relate a future event in advance. Morphologically, the form is compositional, with the named elements combining to produce the modern spelling and sense. In present use, it is used as a verb meaning "to predict or prophesy a future event", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The wider English family includes derivatives such as foreteller and foretelling and related forms such as fore and tell, showing how the same historical material continues to organize neighboring vocabulary. The named historical forms include Old English fore and Old English tellan, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance. Its semantic neighborhood includes predict, prophesy, forecast, and presage, locating the modern specialization without adding a new origin story.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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