Standard Lemma guide

soothsayer

noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /ˈsuθˌseɪɚ/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈsuːθˌseɪə/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: S UW2 TH S EY1 ER0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

One who attempts to predict the future, using magic, intuition or intelligence; a diviner.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A mantis (Mantodea spp.)

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

One who tells the truth; a truthful person.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A double dart moth (Graphiphora augur).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

someone who makes predictions of the future (usually on the basis of special knowledge)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: forecaster, predictor, prognosticator

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: visionary, illusionist, seer

Narrower terms: astrologer, astrologist, fortuneteller, fortune teller

History

Etymology

From Middle English sothsaier, zothziggere, by surface analysis, sooth (“truth”) + sayer.

Across languages

Translations

133 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: عَرَّاف (ʕarrāf) — one who predicts the future
  • Arabic: بَصّار (baṣṣār) — one who predicts the future
  • Arabic: مُتَنبِّئ — one who predicts the future
  • Arabic: مُتَكَهِّن (mutakahhin) — one who predicts the future
  • Armenian: գուշակ (gušak) — one who predicts the future
  • Asturian: adivín — one who predicts the future
  • Asturian: vidente — one who predicts the future
  • Belarusian: вяшчу́н (vjaščún) — one who predicts the future
  • Belarusian: праро́к (prarók) — one who predicts the future
  • Belarusian: празо́рлівец (prazórlivjec) — one who predicts the future
  • Belarusian: прадказа́льнік (pradkazálʹnik) — one who predicts the future
  • Breton: profed — one who predicts the future
  • Breton: divinour — one who predicts the future
  • Breton: diviner — one who predicts the future
  • Bulgarian: предсказател (predskazatel) — one who predicts the future
  • Bulgarian: гадател (gadatel) — one who predicts the future
  • Catalan: endevinaire — one who predicts the future
  • Chinese Mandarin: 預言家 /预言家 (yùyánjiā) — one who predicts the future
  • Chinese Mandarin: 算命家 (suànmìngjiā) — one who predicts the future
  • Czech: věštec — one who predicts the future
  • Danish: spåmand — one who predicts the future
  • Danish: seer — one who predicts the future
  • Dutch: waarzegger — one who predicts the future
  • Dutch: waarzegster — one who predicts the future
  • Dutch: wittiger — one who predicts the future
  • Dutch: toekomstvoorspeller — one who predicts the future
  • Dutch: toekomstvoorspelster — one who predicts the future
  • Dutch: profeet — one who predicts the future
  • Finnish: ennustaja — one who predicts the future
  • French: prophète — one who predicts the future
  • French: prophétesse — one who predicts the future
  • French: devin — one who predicts the future
  • Galician: adiviño — one who predicts the future
  • Galician: agoireiro — one who predicts the future
  • German: Seher — one who predicts the future
  • German: Seherin — one who predicts the future
  • German: Wahrsager — one who predicts the future
  • German: Wahrsagerin — one who predicts the future
  • German: Zeichendeuter — one who predicts the future
  • German: Spökenkieker — one who predicts the future
  • German: Hellseher — one who predicts the future
  • Greek: μάντις (mántis) — one who predicts the future
  • Ancient Greek: μάντις (mántis) — one who predicts the future
  • Ancient Greek: χρησμῳδός (khrēsmōidós) — one who predicts the future
  • Hungarian: jós — one who predicts the future
  • Icelandic: spámaður — one who predicts the future
  • Icelandic: spákona — one who predicts the future
  • Irish: fáistineach — one who predicts the future
  • Irish: fáidh — one who predicts the future
  • Irish: fáidheadóir — one who predicts the future
  • Irish: mathmharc — one who predicts the future
  • Irish: fear feasa — one who predicts the future
  • Irish: bean feasa — one who predicts the future
  • Italian: indovino — one who predicts the future
  • Italian: indovina — one who predicts the future
  • Japanese: 占い師 (uranaishi) — one who predicts the future
  • Kikuyu: mũragũri — one who predicts the future
  • Korean: 점쟁이 (jeomjaeng'i) — one who predicts the future
  • Latin: vātēs — one who predicts the future
  • Latin: python — one who predicts the future
  • Latin: pythonissa — one who predicts the future
  • Macedonian: претска́жувач (pretskážuvač) — one who predicts the future
  • Macedonian: га́талец (gátalec) — one who predicts the future
  • Manx: faaishnagh — one who predicts the future
  • Manx: fallogyssagh — one who predicts the future
  • Manx: guess — one who predicts the future
  • Norwegian Bokmål: spåmann — one who predicts the future
  • Norwegian Bokmål: spåkone — one who predicts the future
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: spåmann — one who predicts the future
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: spåkone — one who predicts the future
  • Old English: spæwīfe — one who predicts the future
  • Old Norse: spákona — one who predicts the future
  • Pacoh: curu — one who predicts the future
  • Plautdietsch: Woasaja — one who predicts the future
  • Polish: wieszcz — one who predicts the future
  • Polish: wieszczek — one who predicts the future
  • Polish: wieszczka — one who predicts the future
  • Polish: prorok — one who predicts the future
  • Polish: prorokini — one who predicts the future
  • Portuguese: adivinho — one who predicts the future
  • Portuguese: adivinha — one who predicts the future
  • Russian: проро́к (prorók) — one who predicts the future
  • Russian: предсказа́тель (predskazátelʹ) — one who predicts the future
  • Russian: предсказа́тельница (predskazátelʹnica) — one who predicts the future
  • Russian: прови́дец (provídec) — one who predicts the future
  • Russian: прови́дица (provídica) — one who predicts the future
  • Russian: прорица́тель (proricátelʹ) — one who predicts the future
  • Russian: прорица́тельница (proricátelʹnica) — one who predicts the future
  • Russian: вещу́н (veščún) — one who predicts the future
  • Russian: вещу́нья (veščúnʹja) — one who predicts the future
  • Scots: wizard — one who predicts the future
  • Scots: witter-wife — one who predicts the future
  • Scots: spaer — one who predicts the future
  • Scots: weird-man — one who predicts the future
  • Scots: forteller — one who predicts the future
  • Scots: foreteller — one who predicts the future
  • Scots: saga — one who predicts the future
  • Scots: suthesayer — one who predicts the future
  • Scots: suth sayar — one who predicts the future
  • Scots: suithsayer — one who predicts the future
  • Scots: suithsayar — one who predicts the future
  • Scots: soothsayer — one who predicts the future
  • Serbo-Croatian: гатар — one who predicts the future
  • Serbo-Croatian: га̀тара — one who predicts the future
  • Serbo-Croatian: gatar — one who predicts the future
  • Serbo-Croatian: gàtara — one who predicts the future
  • Slovak: veštec — one who predicts the future
  • Slovene: vedež — one who predicts the future
  • Slovene: prorok — one who predicts the future
  • Spanish: adivino — one who predicts the future
  • Spanish: adivina — one who predicts the future
  • Swedish: siare — one who predicts the future
  • Swedish: sierska — one who predicts the future
  • Swedish: spåman — one who predicts the future
  • Swedish: spåkvinna — one who predicts the future
  • Turkish: falcı — one who predicts the future
  • Turkish: kâhin — one who predicts the future
  • Ottoman Turkish: فالجی (falcı) — one who predicts the future
  • Ukrainian: віщу́н (viščún) — one who predicts the future
  • Ukrainian: проро́к (prorók) — one who predicts the future
  • Ukrainian: прови́дець (provýdecʹ) — one who predicts the future
  • Ukrainian: прові́сник (provísnyk) — one who predicts the future
  • Vietnamese: thầy bói — one who predicts the future
  • Welsh: daroganwr — one who predicts the future
  • Welsh: daroganwraig — one who predicts the future
  • Arabic: كاهِن (kāhin) — one who tells the truth
  • Finnish: totuudenpuhuja — one who tells the truth
  • Polish: prawdomówna osoba — one who tells the truth
  • Scots: suthesayer — one who tells the truth
  • Scots: suth sayar — one who tells the truth
  • Scots: suithsayer — one who tells the truth
  • Scots: suithsayar — one who tells the truth
  • Scots: soothsayer — one who tells the truth
Real reading context

soothsayer in complete knowledge articles