prophesied

Prophesied is the past tense and past participle of the verb prophesy, meaning to foretell future events, especially as conveyed by a prophet or by divine inspiration. It is used to indicate that a prediction or forecast was made in the past, often by a religious or authoritative figure.

Etymology and form: The related noun is prophecy. The verb prophesy in English develops from that noun and is used in religious, biblical, and literary contexts to describe the act of foretelling. When forming the past tense, prophesy becomes prophesied, with the final y changing to ied after a consonant, following standard English spelling rules for verbs ending in a consonant plus y.

Usage and nuance: Prophesied tends to carry a sense of authority, destiny, or divine sanction attached to the forecast. In contemporary, secular writing, more neutral terms such as predicted or forecasted are common, but prophesied remains common in discussions of religious texts, historical events described as foreseen, or literary narratives in which a figure claims prophetic power.

Examples: The oracle prophesied a famine to come. The king’s return was prophesied by the seer. After the events unfolded, the prophecy associated with the prophesied outcome was regarded as fulfilled.

See also:

- prophecy

- prophesy

- prophet

- prophetic