prophecy
noun /ˈprɒfəsi/
/ˈprɑːfəsi/
(plural prophecies)
- [countable] a statement that something will happen in the future, especially one made by somebody with religious or magic powers
- to fulfil a prophecy (= make it come true)
Extra ExamplesTopics Religion and festivalsc2- The poem contains a bleak prophecy of war and ruin.
- low expectations that become a self-fulfilling prophecy
- Macbeth believed the witches' prophecy about his future.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- self-fulfilling
- Biblical
- Messianic
- …
- make
- fulfil/fulfill
- become
- …
- prophecy about
- prophecy of
- the gift of prophecy
- [uncountable] (formal) the power of being able to say what will happen in the future
- She was believed to have the gift of prophecy.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- self-fulfilling
- Biblical
- Messianic
- …
- make
- fulfil/fulfill
- become
- …
- prophecy about
- prophecy of
- the gift of prophecy
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French profecie, via late Latin from Greek prophēteia, from prophētēs ‘spokesman’, from pro ‘before’ + phētēs ‘speaker’ (from phēnai ‘speak’).