Meaning & use
divinator
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Meaning
nouncountablerareliterary
A person who claims to find hidden things or predict the future by supernatural means.
Grammar: Countable: the divinator read the signs.
Patterns
- consult a divinator
- a divinator of something
The king summoned a divinator to read the signs before the battle.
In the novel, the divinator studies the flight of birds.
Villagers consulted a divinator when the well ran dry.
Word forms
| plural | divinators |
|---|
Common combinations
- consult a divinator
- The council consulted a divinator before choosing a date.
- ancient divinator
- An ancient divinator is shown in the carving.
- a divinator of omens
- He was a divinator of omens.
- court divinator
- The court divinator warned of a storm.
Synonyms and how they differ
- diviner
- Diviner is the common modern word, and it also covers water diviners.
- soothsayer
- Soothsayer is more familiar in stories and suggests someone who speaks truth about the future.
- augur
- Augur refers specifically to reading signs such as birds in ancient Rome.
- seer
- Seer suggests someone who sees visions and is a little more respectful.
Opposites
Word family
- divine verb
- to discover by supernatural means
- divination noun
- the practice of foretelling or finding hidden things
- diviner noun
- a more common word for a person who divines
- divinatory adjective
- relating to divination
Commonly confused: divinator or divine?
divinator vs divine
As an adjective, divine means godlike or wonderful. A divinator is a person who tries to foretell events.
Practice
In the old story, the king asked a ___ to read the signs and predict the harvest.
Choose one answer.
A divinator claims to foretell events. A dictator rules without limits, which sounds similar but does not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “divinator”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.