foretell
fore·tell[fɔːˈtɛɫ]verb
foretell is spelled F-O-R-E-T-E-L-L: 8 letters and 2 syllables (fore·tell). It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 65,913th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, foretell means “To predict; to tell (the future) before it occurs; to prophesy” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in foretell?
| Letters | 8: F-O-R-E-T-E-L-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: fore·tell |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 65,913th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is foretell?
Foretell appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 65,913th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce foretell?
- /fɔɹˈtɛl/
- Australia [foːˈteɫ]
- UK [fɔːˈtɛɫ]
Foretell has 2 syllables, split fore·tell in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-foretell.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of foretell
- foretells present, singular, he/she/it
- foretelling participle, present
- foretold participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does foretell mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To predict; to tell (the future) before it occurs; to prophesy.
- 2
To tell (a person) of the future.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Foretell in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to predict the future:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | prédire |
| German | weissagen, wahrsagen, vorhersagen |
| Portuguese | prever |
| Spanish | predecir, pronosticar, vaticinar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does foretell come from?
First use appears before 1400, from Middle English foretellen, equivalent to fore- + tell.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).