deviner

Deviner is a French verb meaning to guess, to deduce, or to divine something from partial information, and more broadly to forecast or imagine an outcome without complete certainty. It is used when the speaker infers an answer from clues or hints rather than having direct knowledge. In everyday use it is transitive, taking a direct object such as la réponse, un chiffre, or ce que l’on veut. It can also appear in expressions like “je devine ce que tu veux dire.” The term is often contrasted with prévoir (to forecast) and imaginer (to imagine).

Etymology: Deviner comes from Old French deviner, itself from Latin divinare “to foretell,” related to divinus “divine.” The sense shifted over time from prophecy to guessing or inferring based on evidence. Related forms include devin (seer) and devinette (riddle).

Conjugation and usage: In the present tense: je devine, tu devines, il devine, nous devinons, vous devinez, ils devinent. Passé composé: j’ai deviné; imperfect: je devinais; future: je devinerai; conditional: je devinerais; present subjunctive: que je devine (que nous devinions, que vous deviniez); imperative: devine, devinons, devinez. Examples: “Je devine la réponse,” or “Je devine qu’il va pleuvoir.” The verb is common in puzzles and games as well as in ordinary speech when certainty is low and inference is used.