Prognosticate    (pronounced prog-nos-ti-kayt) verb


Definition

1. to foretell or forecast from signs or indications; predict or prophesy.   2. to warn in advance; foreshadow; presage.

Main Example

  • With Oscar night set for February 29, millions of Americans will turn into prognosticators this month as they try to predict the winners. Several noted film critics are prognosticating that the final chapter of the "Lord of the Rings" epic will win the award for Best Picture.

    Workplace Examples

  • If you really want to know what our profits will look like next year, ask Guy. He's by far the best prognosticator around here.

  • I project that the sales of this item will more than triple within two years! That may sound like a rather bold prognostication, but I have all the supporting facts and figures.

    Other Examples

  • the sales department being unable to provide you with a forecast for the year 2007, saying that with no significant trends or other signs to go by, they just cannot prognosticate activity levels that far ahead

  • the stock market reacting very favorably to a Wall Street analyst's optimistic prognosis for the economy because this particular analyst is regarded as one of the most accurate prognosticators in the business

  • a psychic claiming she can prognosticate your future

  • the extremely gloomy prognostications issued by some authorities immediately after the Great Stock Market Crash of October 1987, with Dallas Professor Ravi Batra even becoming an instant celebrity, thanks to the timing of his book in which he prognosticated disaster, saying another Great Depression was imminent

    © 2004 V.J. Singal

    This Month's Other Words

    Funereal
    Voluble
    Perfidious
    Disquiet
    Incurious
    Seminal
    Prognosticate
    Denigrate


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