Meaning & use
prophecy
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Meanings
nouncountable
A statement that predicts what will happen, often believed to come from divine or supernatural insight.
Grammar: Countable: a prophecy, prophecies. Often followed by 'of' or 'about'.
Patterns
- a prophecy of something
- a prophecy about something
- fulfill a prophecy
The prophecy foretold the fall of the city.
Her prophecy about the economic crisis came true.
Ancient prophecies often used symbolic language.
noununcountable
The ability to predict future events, or the act of making such predictions.
Grammar: Uncountable: the gift of prophecy. No plural.
Patterns
- the gift of prophecy
- the power of prophecy
In some cultures, prophecy is considered a sacred gift.
He claimed to have the gift of prophecy.
Word forms
| plural | prophecies |
|---|
Common combinations
- fulfill a prophecy
- The events seemed to fulfill an ancient prophecy.
- self-fulfilling prophecy
- His fear of failure became a self-fulfilling prophecy.
- biblical prophecy
- The book examines biblical prophecy in detail.
- make a prophecy
- The oracle made a prophecy that no one understood.
Synonyms and how they differ
- prediction
- Prediction is a general word for saying what will happen; prophecy often implies divine inspiration.
- foretelling
- Foretelling is the act of predicting; prophecy can also refer to the statement itself or the gift.
- augury
- Augury refers to interpreting omens; prophecy is usually a direct message from a deity.
Word family
Commonly confused: prophecy or prophesy?
prophecy vs prophesy
Prophesy is the verb meaning 'to predict'; prophecy is the noun. Remember: prophecy has 'c' like 'noun'.
Practice
Many people believe that the old woman had the gift of ___.
Choose one answer.
The noun 'prophecy' is needed after 'the gift of'. 'Prophesy' is a verb, and 'prophesied' and 'prophesying' are verb forms, so they don't fit grammatically.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “prophecy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.