(ˈ)fōrˈtel, (ˈ)fȯr, (ˈ)fōəˈ-, (ˈ)fȯ(ə)ˈ- verb
Etymology: Middle English fortellen, foretellen, from for-, fore- fore- + tellen to tell — more at tell
transitive verb
1. : to tell of from foreknowledge : predict , prophesy
2. obsolete : to tell, acquaint, or command beforehand
intransitive verb
obsolete : to utter prediction : prophesy
Synonyms:
predict , forecast , prophesy , prognosticate , augur , presage , portend , forebode , bode : foretell applies to telling of the coming of some future event by any procedure or source of information
some sorcerer … had foretold — Alfred Tennyson
the marvelous exactness with which eclipses are foretold — K.K.Darrow
predict is closely synonymous with foretell; it may be preferred in today's English to suggest or apply to inference from facts and laws of nature
if we can trace certain changes slowly at work in the period preceding our own we may be able to predict with some probability that these changes will continue for some time at least to operate in the same direction — W.R.Inge
astronomers, who developed mathematics to such a degree that it could predict the wanderings of the planets and their satellites — K.K.Darrow
forecast may suggest concomitant anticipation, consideration of effects, and provision for one's needs
he forecast the war, announced in his message the intention to put the state militia on a war footing — Encyc. Americana
prophesy may imply mystic inspiration, real or pretended, supernatural machinery, or august or pontifical assurance
ancestral voices prophesying war — S.T.Coleridge
professional astrologists make a practice of prophesying the presidency for budding statesmen — S.H.Adams
prognosticate may indicate learned or skilled use of symptoms and signs; it is applicable to a physician's procedure
prognosticating a quick recovery
the slight moisture resolved itself into a monotonous smiting of earth by heaven, in torrents to which no end could be prognosticated — Thomas Hardy
augur may indicate foreknowing the future by interpreting omens; used in relation to things and conditions, it indicates presentation as an omen of good or evil
the morrow brought a very sober-looking morning; the sun making only a few efforts to appear; and Catherine augured from it everything most favorable to her wishes — Jane Austen
presage and portend , the latter usually used of evil things or adverse developments, may apply to foreshadowing or suggesting a coming event or indicating its likelihood, sometimes by occult procedures
they think that the sight of a meteor presages some misfortune — J.G.Frazer
the yellow and vapory sunset … had presaged change — Thomas Hardy
all the signs, the position of the stars, and the very disposition of nature portended war and disaster
the appearance of these spectral flames, it is claimed, is not exclusively confined to portending the demise of someone already ill — Irish Digest
forebode indicates a feeling, indefinable, perhaps ill-based, but insistent and worrisome, or an indication calling forth worrisome or dread feeling
his heart forebodes a mystery — Alfred Tennyson
bode applies to indication of future probability, often indefinite and often dire
an eternal nightmare which, even for the richest and safest of nations, bodes catastrophes — A.L.Guérard
the mood of quiet, grim resolution which here prevails bodes ill for those who conspired and collaborated to murder world peace — F.D.Roosevelt
the dynamics of social change, which is foreboded in the emotional tensions of individuals — Franz Alexander