prophesy
/ˈpɹɑfɪsaɪ/verb
prophesy is spelled P-R-O-P-H-E-S-Y: 8 letters. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,663rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “prophecy vs prophesy” about 1,300 times a month (Google, United States). As a verb, prophesy means “To speak or write with divine inspiration; to act as prophet” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in prophesy?
| Letters | 8: P-R-O-P-H-E-S-Y |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 43,663rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people 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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is prophesy?
Prophesy appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,663rd 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 prophesy?
- UK /ˈpɹɒfɪsaɪ/
- US /ˈpɹɑfɪsaɪ/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-prophesy.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with prophesy
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: prophecy.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of prophesy
- prophesies present, singular, he/she/it
- prophesying participle, present
- prophesied participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does prophesy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To speak or write with divine inspiration; to act as prophet.
No, but when the Spirit fils The fantastick Pannicles: Full of fier; then I write
- 2
To predict, to foretell (with or without divine inspiration).
- 3
To foreshow; to herald; to prefigure.
- 4
To speak out on the Bible as an expression of holy inspiration; to preach.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Prophesy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to predict:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | prophétiser |
| German | prophezeien, weissagen |
| Portuguese | profetizar, vaticinar, predizer |
| Spanish | profetizar |
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 prophesy come from?
From Middle English prophecien; partly from prophecie, and partly from Middle French prophecier, prophesier, from prophecie (“prophecy”). Doublet of prophecy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).