prophet

noun

proph·​et ˈprä-fət How to pronounce prophet (audio)
1
: one who utters divinely inspired revelations: such as
a
often capitalized : the writer of one of the prophetic books of the Bible
b
capitalized : one regarded by a group of followers as the final authoritative revealer of God's will
Muhammad, the Prophet of Allah
2
: one gifted with more than ordinary spiritual and moral insight
especially : an inspired poet
3
: one who foretells future events : predictor
4
: an effective or leading spokesman for a cause, doctrine, or group
5
Christian Science
a
: a spiritual seer
b
: disappearance of material sense before the conscious facts of spiritual Truth
prophethood noun

Examples of prophet in a Sentence

the words of the prophet an economist who is regarded by many as a reliable prophet of future developments in the global economy
Recent Examples on the Web With a shock of long white hair and a long beard, the 67-year-old looks like an Old Testament prophet. Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2024 Cassandra: The famous prophet Cassandra appears in Troilus & Cressida. Kara Nesvig, Parents, 14 Oct. 2024 Just in case Daemon didn’t get it before, another Targaryen prophet enters the dreamspace to give him the TL;DR version of Bloodraven’s point. Alexis Nedd, IndieWire, 5 Aug. 2024 In the Bible, Jezebel hailed from Phoenicia (now Lebanon), married King Ahab of Israel, supported the worship of a nature god named Baal and called for the killing of the Hebrew God's prophets. Kayla Dwyer, The Indianapolis Star, 2 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for prophet 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'prophet.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English prophete, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin prophēta "spokesman or interpreter of a god" (Late Latin also prophētēs "revealer of God's will, foreteller of future events"), borrowed from Greek prophḗtēs "one who interprets the will of a god to humans, interpreter," (Septuagint) "revealer of God's will," (New Testament) "inspired preacher and teacher, foreteller of future events," from pro- pro- entry 1 + phē-, stem of phēmí, phánai "to speak, say" + -tēs, agent suffix — more at ban entry 1

Note: A few attestations in late Old English, apparently declined as a weak noun, are directly from Latin.

First Known Use

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of prophet was in the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near prophet

Cite this Entry

“Prophet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prophet. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

prophet

noun
proph·​et ˈpräf-ət How to pronounce prophet (audio)
1
: one who declares publicly a message that one believes has come from God or a god
2
: one who foretells future events

More from Merriam-Webster on prophet

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!