prognosticate
verb
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Prognosticate, which ultimately traces back to the Greek word prognōstikos (“knowing beforehand, prescient”), first appears in English during the 15th century. Since that time, prognosticate has been connected with things that foreshadow events to come and with people who can prophesy or predict the future by such signs. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley used the “prophesy” sense of prognosticate in her Gothic horror novel Frankenstein as Victor Frankenstein writes of his feelings upon approaching Geneva: “I wept like a child. ‘Dear mountains! my own beautiful lake! how do you welcome your wanderer? Your summits are clear; the sky and lake are blue and placid. Is this to prognosticate peace, or to mock at my unhappiness?’” Other English words stitched together from prognōstikos that you may be familiar with include the nouns prognostic and prognosis, which also have senses related to foretelling. Prognostic can mean “prophecy,” while prognosis—used often in medical contexts to refer to the prospect of a patient’s recovery—can also mean “forecast.”
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Examples of prognosticate in a Sentence
Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2024
That comes on the heels of the stock’s biggest single-day gain since May 2011, as shares leapt 22% in Thursday trading after the company’s earnings report smashed analyst forecasts for third-quarter profits and Musk prognosticated up to 30% vehicle delivery growth in 2025.
—Derek Saul, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024
Still, there were some smart folks who prognosticated Hutchinson as the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year.
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—Jim Reineking, USA TODAY, 17 Sep. 2024
Kendrick Lamar remains one of our most exciting superstars because of the inherent unpredictability of his artistry, so when prognosticating how this beef affects his future, the answer has to be: TBD.
—Angel Diaz, Billboard, 14 May 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Prognosticate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prognosticate. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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Medical Definition
prognosticate
transitive verb
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