foretell

verb (foretell, foretells, foretold, foretelling)

«foretell» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

Everyday

To foretell something is to say what will happen in the future, often by magic, prophecy or special knowledge. tree →
To foretell can also mean to be a sign of something to come. tree →

In the lessons

Stories, myths and the Bible (prophets, fortune-tellers, witches foretelling a king's fate). In real life, nobody can truly foretell the future; science predicts using evidence. Phrases: foretell the future, as foretold.

Examples

The old woman claimed to foretell the future. tree →
In the myth, the oracle foretold the hero's journey. tree →
(Bible) Christians believe the prophets foretold the birth of Jesus. tree →
Dark clouds foretell rain. tree →
Nobody can foretell exactly who will win. tree →
The legend foretold that a child would pull the sword from the stone. tree →
A neighbor saw him running and said, “Oh! you fellow there! you say you can foretell the fortunes of others; how is it you did not foresee your own?” tree →

Note

Irregular past: foretold (not «foretelled»). Similar: predict, forecast, prophesy. Predict is the science word (based on evidence); foretell sounds magical. Be careful of people who claim to foretell the future for money.

On Mova

Trees and pragmatics of «foretell» in the school dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
«foretell» in the school dictionary on Mova free.

This page in Markdown → https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/foretell/