Meanings
nounfortune-telling (uncountable)
alternative fortunetelling · alternative fortune telling
- uncountableThe act or practice of predicting the future (especially for money), as by using a crystal ball, reading palms, reading tea leaves in a cup, etc.; prediction of future events, especially those of a personal nature.
Fortune-telling has been in all countries a gift of the sea-people.
1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 242
Translations
Arabic عَرَافَة
- عَرَافَة (ʕarāfa)fortunetelling, predicting one's future
Chinese Mandarin 占卜
- 占卜 (zhānbǔ)fortunetelling, predicting one's future
Esperanto aŭgurado
- aŭguradofortunetelling, predicting one's future
Estonian ennustamine
- ennustaminefortunetelling, predicting one's future
Finnish ennustaminen
- ennustaminenfortunetelling, predicting one's future
French bonne aventure
- bonne aventurefortunetelling, predicting one's future
German Wahrsagen, Wahrsagerei
- Wahrsagenfortunetelling, predicting one's future
- Wahrsagereifortunetelling, predicting one's future
Hungarian jóslás, jövendőmondás
- jóslásfortunetelling, predicting one's future
- jövendőmondásfortunetelling, predicting one's future
Italian divinazione
- divinazionefortunetelling, predicting one's future
Japanese 占い
- 占い (uranai)fortunetelling, predicting one's future
Latin hariolatio
- hariolatiofortunetelling, predicting one's future
Polish wróżbiarstwo, wróżenie
- wróżbiarstwofortunetelling, predicting one's future
- wróżeniefortunetelling, predicting one's future
Portuguese adivinhação
- adivinhaçãofortunetelling, predicting one's future
Romanian prezicere
- prezicerefortunetelling, predicting one's future
Russian гада́ние, ворожба́
- гада́ние (gadánije)fortunetelling, predicting one's future
- ворожба́ (vorožbá)fortunetelling, predicting one's future
Swedish spådom
- spådomfortunetelling, predicting one's future
Turkish fal
- falfortunetelling, predicting one's future
Vietnamese bói, bói toán
- bóifortunetelling, predicting one's future
- bói toánfortunetelling, predicting one's future
Welsh darogan
- daroganfortunetelling, predicting one's future
Cite this entry
APA
fortune-telling. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fortune-telling
MLA
“fortune-telling.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fortune-telling. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fortune-telling,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fortune-telling.
Source: fortune-telling on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.