predictpre‧dict /prɪˈdɪkt/ ●●● W3 AWL verb [transitive] 
Sales were five percent lower than predicted.predict (that) Newspapers predicted that Davis would be re-elected.predict whether/what/how etc It is difficult to predict what the long-term effects of the accident will be. As Liz had predicted, the rumours were soon forgotten.be predicted to do something Unemployment is predicted to increase to 700,000 by the end of the year.GRAMMAR: Patterns with predict• You predict that something will happen: · Experts predict that the economic situation will improve.• You predicted that something would happen: · Experts predicted that the economic situation would improve.• You predict that something might or could happen: · No one could have predicted that she might do something like that.• You say that something is predicted to happen: · The population is predicted to increase.• You say it is predicted that something will happen:· It is predicted that the population will increase.• You say that someone is predicting something. Predict is often used in the progressive: · They are predicting another hot summer.THESAURUSpredict to say that something will happen, before it happens: · In the future, it may be possible to predict earthquakes.· Scientists are trying to predict what the Amazon will look like in 20 years' time.forecast to say what is likely to happen in the future, especially in relation to the weather or the economic or political situation: · They’re forecasting a hard winter.· Economists forecast that there would be a recession.project to say what the amount, size, cost etc of something is likely to be in the future, using the information you have now: · The world’s population is projected to rise by 45%.can say especially spoken be able to know what will happen in the future: · No one can say what the next fifty years will bring.· I can’t say exactly how much it will cost.foretell to say correctly what will happen in the future, using special religious or magical powers: · The woman claimed that she had the gift of foretelling the future.· It all happened as the prophet had foretold.prophesy to say that something will happen because you feel that it will, or by using special religious or magical powers: · He’s one of those people who are always prophesying disaster.· The coming of a great Messiah is prophesied in the Bible.· He prophesied that the world would end in 2012.· Marx prophesied that capitalism would destroy itself.foresee to know that something is going to happen before it happens: · They should have foreseen these problems.· No one foresaw the outcome of the war.have a premonition to have a strange feeling that something is about to happen, especially something bad, usually just before it happens: · Suddenly I had a strange premonition of danger ahead.
WORD ORIGINpredict
Origin:
1500-1600 Latin past participle of praedicere ‘to say beforehand’VERB TABLE
predict
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | predict |
| he, she, it | predicts | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | predicted |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have predicted |
| he, she, it | has predicted | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had predicted |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will predict |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have predicted |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am predicting |
| he, she, it | is predicting | |
| you, we, they | are predicting | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was predicting |
| you, we, they | were predicting | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been predicting |
| he, she, it | has been predicting | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been predicting |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be predicting |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been predicting |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- a major earthquake that no-one had predicted
- Most of the papers are predicting an easy victory for the Dallas Cowboys.
- Some scientists predict that the Earth's temperature will rise by as much as 5° over the next 20 years.
- The newspapers are predicting a close election.
- But no-one can predict how new joints will last.
- But not in any form I could have predicted.
- Economists are predicting zero growth for the fourth quarter.
- Even the amount of time remaining is almost impossible to predict.
- In three years, Mr Kern predicts, every major fund group will offer a microcap fund.
- It is also possible to predict under what pathologic circumstances excretion of free water would be impaired.
- Purdue was not predicted to win any of them.
- Time and again, his detractors predicted that he would cancel elections and referendums.
THESAURUS
to say that something will happen, before it happens: · In the future, it may be possible to predict earthquakes.· Scientists are trying to predict what the Amazon will look like in 20 years' time.
to say what is likely to happen in the future, especially in relation to the weather or the economic or political situation: · They’re forecasting a hard winter.· Economists forecast that there would be a recession.
to say what the amount, size, cost etc of something is likely to be in the future, using the information you have now: · The world’s population is projected to rise by 45%.
especially spoken be able to know what will happen in the future: · No one can say what the next fifty years will bring.· I can’t say exactly how much it will cost.
to say correctly what will happen in the future, using special religious or magical powers: · The woman claimed that she had the gift of foretelling the future.· It all happened as the prophet had foretold.
to say that something will happen because you feel that it will, or by using special religious or magical powers: · He’s one of those people who are always prophesying disaster.· The coming of a great Messiah is prophesied in the Bible.· He prophesied that the world would end in 2012.· Marx prophesied that capitalism would destroy itself.
to know that something is going to happen before it happens: · They should have foreseen these problems.· No one foresaw the outcome of the war.
to have a strange feeling that something is about to happen, especially something bad, usually just before it happens: · Suddenly I had a strange premonition of danger ahead.
Longman Language Activatorto say what will happen in the future to say what you think will happen in the future: · Most of the papers are predicting an easy victory for the Dallas Cowboys.· a major earthquake that no-one had predictedpredict (that): · Some scientists predict that the Earth's temperature will rise by as much as 5° over the next 20 years.
to publicly say what will happen in the future with the weather or the economic or political situation, especially when you have special or technical knowledge: · Property analysts forecast a fall in house prices.forecast rain/fine weather/snow etc: · Rain is forecast for all parts of southern England tomorrow.forecast that: · Hardly anyone had forecast that the drought would last so long.
to say that something will happen, especially because you have religious or magical powers: · It is claimed that Ebba prophesied her own death from the plague. prophesy that: · Jesus prophesied that one of his disciples would betray him.prophesy about: · Her ability to prophesy about the future made many people think she was a witch.
to say what will happen in the future, especially by using magical powers - used in literature and stories: · Nostradamus is said to have foretold the rise of Hitler.· Everything happened as Merlin foretold.
to try to predict what an opponent will do in order to gain an advantage over them: · I just couldn't get the ball past him; he second-guessed me every time.· Second-guessing the bank's next move in the takeover bid proved very difficult.
to think you know what is going to happen in the future to know that something is going to happen before it actually happens: · No one foresaw the Great Depression of the thirties.· Businesses are alarmed at the costs they foresee in complying with the new rules.foresee that: · Ten years ago she could not have foreseen that her marriage would end in divorce.
also envision to have a clear idea of something that will happen in the future, especially important changes in a situation: · I cannot envisage what the circumstances will be in twenty years' time.· Most of those who voted for independence did not envision war as the eventual outcome.· We do not envisage a general election for at least another two years.
to know or think you know what is going to happen because there are signs that it will: · Jason saw the stock market crash coming and sold most of his shares.· Then one day she just walked out -- I suppose I should have seen it coming really.
informal to think that something is going to happen, especially something bad, not for any clear or specific reason, but just because you have a feeling that it will: · The trip's going to be a disaster - I can feel it in my bones.
to have a strange or unexplainable feeling that something is going to happen, especially something unpleasant: have a premonition (that): · When Paola failed to phone, John had a horrible premonition that she was in danger.have a premonition of: · She shivered suddenly, and I wondered whether she had had a premonition of her own death.
someone who can see into the future has the ability to know what will happen before it happens: · If I could only see into the future and know how this would all end.· Nobody can see into the future, and all stock exchange investment is a gamble.
something that someone predicts will happen a statement saying what you think will happen in the future: · Despite their confident predictions, sales of the new car have not been very good.make a prediction: · It's too early to make any predictions about the election results.
a public statement saying what is likely to happen with the weather or with the economic or political situation, based on special or technical knowledge: the weather forecast (=a statement in a newspaper, or on the TV or radio, saying what the weather will be like during the next few days): · According to the weather forecast, it's going to stay hot for the rest of the week.give/make a forecast: · It is impossible to give an accurate forecast of company sales 10 years from now.
a statement that says something will happen, especially made by someone with religious or magical powers: prophecy of: · The old woman's prophecies of disaster were soon fulfilled.prophecy that: · Lij Yasu was never crowned, possibly because he believed a prophecy that if he became king he would die.· Amazingly, the manager's prophecy that the team would get into the first division seems to be coming true.
formal the likely result of a process such as an illness or a series of events that has already started: · Well, doctor, what's the prognosis?· By the early 1990s the prognosis for Communism wasn't at all good.
showing what someone thinks will happen in the future: · More than a century after Marx, the predicted dissolution of capitalism has still not taken place.· There were several arrests for disorderly behaviour, but for the most part the much-predicted violence did not materialize.
: projected figures/sales/profits/results the profits, sales etc that a business expects to achieve considering past and present performance: · Next year's projected sales are 5% higher than this year's.· The company's losses look likely to wipe out the projected profits on the ECR90 project.
able to be predicted · The drug is usually effective but unfortunately the side effects are not always predictable.· There are few predictable elements to this conflict -- the only certainty is that the situation will worsen before it gets better.it is predictable that · In the current economic climate it is fairly predictable that unemployment will continue to rise.
able to be predicted within a particular period of time in the future: · Due to rising costs and delays in the delivery of equipment, losses are already foreseeable on the new tunnel project.in the foreseeable future: · There will not be any redundancies in the foreseeable future.foreseeable circumstances: · Your insurance policy should take into account all foreseeable circumstances.
not able to be predicted informal to be unable to say or predict what will happen: can't say/tell how/what/whether: · The doctors can't say whether he will recover at this stage.· I don't know if we'll stay together or not. I can't tell how I'll be feeling in a month's time.
something that is unpredictable is impossible to predict because the situation changes a lot and has no regular pattern: · Britain is well known for its unpredictable weather.· Mayoral elections are usually unpredictable, highly dependent on the particular appeal of personalities and the ability to form coalitions.highly unpredictable: · The situation in the region's poorest country remains volatile and highly unpredictable.
a situation or event, especially a bad one, that is unforeseeable could not have been predicted because it is the result of unusually bad luck: · What happened the following weekend was as unforeseeable as a plane falling on your house.· The circumstances which combined to cause this accident were unforeseeable.
use this to show that you are unable or unwilling to say what will happen, and so people have to wait and see: · "What is your next film going to be about?" "Well, that remains to be seen."· What remains to be seen now is whether it is too late to save the rainforests.it remains to be seen how/when/if etc: · It remains to be seen how many senior citizens will actually benefit from this new plan.
someone with special powers to predict someone who tells people what will happen to them in the future and is paid for doing this: · I went to see a fortune teller, and she told me that I would meet the man of my dreams and have three children.
someone who has the ability to know what will happen in the future: · A clairvoyant predicted that something terrible would happen to the President.
spoken someone who is psychic is able to know what will happen in the future - used especially when saying that you cannot know what will happen, or when you are surprised that someone knew that something would happen: · How was I supposed to know she'd react like that? I'm not psychic!· How did you know I'd be here? You must be psychic!
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY As Liz had predicted, the rumours were soon forgotten.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
As Liz had predicted, the rumours were soon forgotten. (=say what will happen in the future)· No-one can predict the future of boxing.
(=say what the final result will be)· It is too early to predict the final outcome of the survey.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· Thus Price's work is criticised because of its failure to accurately predict growth rates.· Clearly through representation, he accurately predicts a cause-and-effect relationship.· They stressed that at present no test is available which will predict accurately anyone at risk of a heart attack.· In their view, Spengler diagnosed the main historical trends of human society and accurately predicted the fate of decaying bourgeois society.· He had accurately predicted the necessity of a better organised army to defend Ulthuan against the increasing strength of the Dark Elves.· They can no longer rely on conventional market research to predict accurately the spending habits of ageing baby boomers or their children.
· It also predicts a stress-superposition law which has been observed experimentally.· Thomas also predicted that if gaming dies, the effect will be widespread.· He also predicted that even if Aristide won he would not be permitted to assume the presidency.· Kerrey also predicted the Democrats would take away the seat held by Sen.· Sinclair with his similar, hut cheaper set also predicts great things despite industrial hiccups at his Dundee production plant.· The authors also predict an increase in violent storms, fires, landslides and avalanches in the Alpine region as well as widespread deforestation.· She has also predicted her own death a week before my return to Achnacarry.· The model also predicts that the higher the value of the greater, ceterisparibus, the value of.
· These studies confidently predict that at any plausible temperatures in Jupiter no solid molecular hydrogen surface is encountered.· Lowell instituted a search for this unknown planet, confidently predicting exactly where it should be.· Laura Ashley, on the brink of collapse two years ago, confidently predicted a return to profitability and outlined expansion plans.
· In order to predict how the universe should have started off, one needs laws that hold at the beginning of time.· Phil Gramm of Texas set for himself in predicting how well he would do in the Louisiana and Iowa caucuses.· But no-one can predict how new joints will last.· To be sure, predicting how many cell phones and semiconductors to make is a difficult game.· It must, moreover, try to predict how they will move in the future.· The differ-ent interests involved are so numerous and so contradictory that no one could reasonably predict how present conflicts will turn out.· That does not mean he could not be right in predicting how computer evolution could proceed.· Ask them to predict how many drops of water a penny will hold.
NOUN· Many analysts predict that clearance of the Lloyds bid would hand victory to Lloyds over the nil-premium merger with BoS.· City analysts predict a price war in the telecommunications market.· Eight analysts surveyed Friday had predicted pretax profit of between 130 million pounds and 127 million pounds.· In 1995 analysts predicted that the earnings of technology companies would increase by 16 %.· Many industry analysts are predicting a slight industry recession in 1998.· Wall Street analysts had predicted revenue of between $ 26 million and $ 28 million.· Education analysts predict that college costs will be at least 80 percent higher by 2005 than they are today.
· Complete trust means knowing some one so wall we can always predict their behaviour, which is impossible.· These parameters are then used in the model to predict the behaviour of the basin.· Using generalizations using a property to predict behaviour proof by appeal to a generalization 3.· Finally, it should go without saying that Presocratic theories do not allow one to predict behaviour.
· Human knowledge is as yet unable to predict such changes.· In November, the jobless rate was 8. 6 percent and analysts predicted little change for December.· Both of them seem to involve precognition, predicting dramatic changes in the destiny of great men.· But how does entropy help us to predict whether a change will take place or not?· Such a forecast would not attempt to predict the moment-to-moment changes that have led to the steady state.· It is predicted that these changes will result in significance shifts in the rating burden.· It is difficult to predict the outcome of changes in the terms of employment of teachers.
· But experts predict interest rates will have to jump to protect the pound.· The experts are now predicting dengue fever will be showing up here soon.· Another team of Tinseltown experts on Variety magazine predicted it would be 1992's biggest box-office flop.· However, many experts predict economic and financial obstacles will cause a delay of several years.· But experts predict that a landslide would rupture chlorine tanks.· When the holiday shopping season began, experts predicted a strong season for retailers.· Economic experts predicted that the unemployment rate would rise to over 1,000,000 by 1991.· A year ago, the experts were predicting another one-term presidency.
· The future is hard to predict.· The bright future predicted when Crawford had travelled to Hollywood two years earlier had turned sour.
· The government predicted a growth rate of 7.8 percent in 1991.· He predicted 8 percent growth this year, compared with 22 percent last year.· Thus Price's work is criticised because of its failure to accurately predict growth rates.· Each year forecasters predict that growth will resume the next.· Economists are predicting zero growth for the fourth quarter.· Two decades ago, he said, they were likely to predict solid earnings growth when analysts called.· Despite the steady stream of layoffs, federal statisticians are predicting growth in select industries or fields.
· After such a heated year, many in the apartment industry predict calmer days ahead.· Many industry analysts are predicting a slight industry recession in 1998.· Some in the industry even predicted that e-commerce would spell the death of malls.
· Key player Reckitt & Colman predicts that the market will be worth £750m by the end of the decade.· In addition, the resulting change in reserves can be predicted precisely and open market operations are readily reversible.· By 1994 Lipton predicts the market will be moving again.· Analysts predict the market for the thin panels could be $ 15 billion by the turn of the century.
· The longer stride actually slowed his progress by 30 percent, exactly as the model had predicted.· It was several times worse than the worst case the computer models had predicted.· Most convection models predict that convection cells have similar horizontal and vertical dimensions, although arguments have been presented against this idea.· A reduction in computational complexity will provide greater flexibility in choice of models used to predict outcomes and correlations.· Such detachment models predict that two types of passive margin will be produced by continental rupture.· The theoretical basis for this rests on economic models which predict that there are net welfare gains available from removing these barriers.· The model correctly predicts a downturn in fertility around 1964.· These parameters are then used in the model to predict the behaviour of the basin.
· This year tourism officials are predicting figures closer to 400,000.· Housing officials predicted the case would lead to broader application of the fair housing law across the country.· Five years from now, officials predict that the cost of housing prisoners may be close to $ 5 billion.· San Francisco elections officials predict a 30 percent turnout at best; campaign managers and pollsters think election officials are optimistic.· In the short term, the administration budget would produce lower payments by the government for each visit, the official predicted.
· The longitudinal data will be utilised to investigate change over time and the factors which predict good or poor outcome.· Sometimes in a tournament I can predict the exact outcome of the shot before he makes it.· We have shown that red cell volume predicts outcome in preterm infants.· A reduction in computational complexity will provide greater flexibility in choice of models used to predict outcomes and correlations.· And it will attempt to predict the specific outcome from the implementation of company plans.· This accords with our finding that median arterial-alveolar oxygen tension ratio predicts respiratory outcome better than the minimum ratio.· I hope he doesn't suffer the same fate as those who first used a computer to predict an election's outcome.· The major defence pollsters give is that quota samples generally predict the outcome of elections pretty well.
· This suggest that mispricings can be used to predict subsequent price movements.· The examination boards predicted a price war after one offered discounts in return for an exclusive deal with schools.· It predicts that prices will continue to fall, both for basic capacity and for value-added services.· It also predicts that real commodity prices will continue to weaken, with another average decline of 2 percent projected for 1988.· City analysts predict a price war in the telecommunications market.
· The government predicted a growth rate of 7.8 percent in 1991.· It initially predicted a rate of 2. 8 percent after 2. 6 percent in 1995.· Thus Price's work is criticised because of its failure to accurately predict growth rates.· Proponents, however, predict rates will be cut, perhaps by as much as 40 percent.· In a perfect world, a dentist would be able to predict the rate of decay of a tooth.· Clinton and Riley predicted the student default rate will continue to decline as direct lending expands.· But experts predict interest rates will have to jump to protect the pound.· Mr Ricchiuto predicts long-term interest rates will rise through the 7 % level this year.
· The report predicts 1991 will see further declines in occupancy and achieved room rates.
· It is difficult to see how this latter analysis can predict the results obtained.· Only last week, Dole predicted a similar result this time but backed off as his poll numbers dipped.· It is therefore impossible, from the results of one deformation-gradient history to predict the results of any other.· Perhaps you can predict the results.· In general, quantum mechanics does not predict a single definite result for an observation.· But so far, the government has not dared to predict when good results may come.· The calculations are then used to predict experimental results.· In classical mechanics one can predict the results of measuring both the position and the velocity of a particle.
· A theory is meant to predict, to control, to create certainty.· Indeed it does, and that is exactly what the evolutionary theory would predict.· These theories predict a positive relationship between daily volume and volatility, as illustrated in Fig. 8.4.· When he found that his theory exactly predicted the path of Mercury, he was beside himself with happiness for days.· The eggs develop there, and as the theory predicts, it is the female sea horse who courts the male.· The theory that predicts the existence of the W and Z particles evolved largely through attempts to understand the weak nuclear force.· Let us examine what his theory predicts, without getting tangled up in the mathematics.
WORD FAMILYnounpredictionpredictability ≠ unpredictabilitypredictoradjectivepredictable ≠ unpredictablepredictiveverbpredictadverbpredictably ≠ unpredictably
to say that something will happen, before it happens: Sales were five percent lower than predicted.predict (that) Newspapers predicted that Davis would be re-elected.predict whether/what/how etc It is difficult to predict what the long-term effects of the accident will be. As Liz had predicted, the rumours were soon forgotten.be predicted to do something Unemployment is predicted to increase to 700,000 by the end of the year.GRAMMAR: Patterns with predict• You predict that something will happen: · Experts predict that the economic situation will improve.• You predicted that something would happen: · Experts predicted that the economic situation would improve.• You predict that something might or could happen: · No one could have predicted that she might do something like that.• You say that something is predicted to happen: · The population is predicted to increase.• You say it is predicted that something will happen:· It is predicted that the population will increase.• You say that someone is predicting something. Predict is often used in the progressive: · They are predicting another hot summer.THESAURUSpredict to say that something will happen, before it happens: · In the future, it may be possible to predict earthquakes.· Scientists are trying to predict what the Amazon will look like in 20 years' time.forecast to say what is likely to happen in the future, especially in relation to the weather or the economic or political situation: · They’re forecasting a hard winter.· Economists forecast that there would be a recession.project to say what the amount, size, cost etc of something is likely to be in the future, using the information you have now: · The world’s population is projected to rise by 45%.can say especially spoken be able to know what will happen in the future: · No one can say what the next fifty years will bring.· I can’t say exactly how much it will cost.foretell to say correctly what will happen in the future, using special religious or magical powers: · The woman claimed that she had the gift of foretelling the future.· It all happened as the prophet had foretold.prophesy to say that something will happen because you feel that it will, or by using special religious or magical powers: · He’s one of those people who are always prophesying disaster.· The coming of a great Messiah is prophesied in the Bible.· He prophesied that the world would end in 2012.· Marx prophesied that capitalism would destroy itself.foresee to know that something is going to happen before it happens: · They should have foreseen these problems.· No one foresaw the outcome of the war.have a premonition to have a strange feeling that something is about to happen, especially something bad, usually just before it happens: · Suddenly I had a strange premonition of danger ahead.