If you’re not sure how to describe a person who claims they can predict the future, this article is here to help!
Below, you’ll find a list of useful terms for a person with spooky, prophetic visions about what is to come. So, read on and keep an open mind!
Words for Someone Who Can Predict the Future
- Prescient
- Precognitive
- Seer
- Prophet
- Prognosticator
- Clairvoyant
- Psychic
- Foreseer
- Predictor
- Augur
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- If you want to describe someone who can foretell the future, you could call them “prescient.”
- “Precognitive” is another formal term for someone which clairvoyant abilities.
- A more common term for a person who can look into the future is a “seer.”
Keep reading to see how we use our top three terms for someone who can predict the future in some useful example sentences!
Prescient
If you’re looking for a word to describe someone who can foretell the future, we would recommend the word “prescient.”
Firstly, the Cambridge Dictionary defines “prescient” as “knowing or suggesting correctly what will happen in the future.” In other words, “prescient” is an adjective.
Therefore, when someone can predict that certain events will happen, or the outcome of those events, you could describe them as “prescient.”
Secondly, this is a good formal term for someone with clairvoyant abilities. Thus, you might find this term used in academic papers or articles from time to time.
Finally, to see this phrase in action, let’s look at a couple of example sentences:
Carlisle’s paper on the dangers of toxic masculinity has proved to be remarkably prescient of the current crisis facing young boys.
She has always been spookily prescient, and so I always ask her opinion on these things first.
Precognitive
Another word for someone who can tell the future is “precognitive.” Furthermore, this is another rather formal choice that you can use in academic or formal writing to describe the phenomenon of looking into the future.
After all, the Cambridge Dictionary defines “precognitive” as “showing or relating to knowledge of a future event, especially when this comes from a direct message to the mind, such as in a dream, rather than by reason.”
Many people report experiencing vivid and prophetic dreams about what is to come. Therefore, if you were to meet such a person, you might call them “precognitive.”
After all, this is simply a tonally neutral term for someone who has eerie knowledge about things that have yet to happen.
Lastly, let’s see a couple of example sentences making use of this term:
He is writing a comic book about a precognitive talking cat owned by a famous superhero.
I’ve chosen not to tell anybody about all of my precognitive dreams, as it seems they are even more certain to come true when people try to avoid them.
Seer
If you’re trying to figure out what to call someone who can see the future in more informal circumstances, “seer” is an easy and popular choice.
Firstly, the Cambridge Dictionary defines a “seer” as “a person who says he or she can see what will happen in the future.”
Secondly, Merriam-Webster defines this term as “one that practices divination, especially by concentrating on a glass or crystal globe.”
Therefore, this term conjures a more stereotypical image. Namely, a mysterious individual gazing into a crystal ball and foretelling people’s fortunes for a fee.
Nevertheless, a “seer” is anyone who claims to know what the future holds. Therefore, you can use this term regardless of how they go about reporting their visions.
Finally, let’s see how you might use the word “seer” in a few examples:
Lady Mirabel is the town’s most talented seer, and I bet she could tell you where to find your other half.
Dad paid $800 to a seer, only to be told that he was going to have financial problems in the future.