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# 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

1. To foretell something is to say what will happen in the future, often by magic, prophecy or special knowledge. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foretell/#m1)
2. To foretell can also mean to be a sign of something to come. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foretell/#m2)

### 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 →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foretell/#x1)
- In the myth, the oracle foretold the hero's journey. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foretell/#x2)
- (Bible) Christians believe the prophets foretold the birth of Jesus. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foretell/#x3)
- Dark clouds foretell rain. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foretell/#x4)
- Nobody can foretell exactly who will win. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foretell/#x5)
- The legend foretold that a child would pull the sword from the stone. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foretell/#x6)
- 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 →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foretell/#x7)

### 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](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foretell/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«foretell» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/foretell.html) on Mova free.