pretell

P3R1E1T1E1L1L1

verb

To predict.

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Meanings

verbpretell (third-person singular simple present pretells, present participle pretelling, simple past and past participle pretold)

present singular third person pretells · participle present pretelling · participle past pretold · past pretold

  1. To predict.

    The Roman historian Tacitus does not simply tell what has happened in a past long past so that it will be preserved for the present and into an endless future; rather, he pretells what has happened, in effect transposing history (necessarily of the past) into prediction (necessarily of the future).

    1983, David A. White, The Grand Continuum: Reflections on Joyce and Metaphysics

Origin

From pre- + tell.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

pretell. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pretell

MLA

“pretell.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pretell. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pretell,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pretell.

Source: pretell on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.