Definition

Noun: A person who claims to predict or tell someone's personal future, often using methods like palmistry, tarot cards, or crystal balls.

Usage

A "fortune teller" is someone who offers predictions about an individual's life, such as their career, love life, or fortune. This term is neutral but often implies the use of specific, sometimes mystical, techniques.

Examples

• The fortune teller at the fair read my palm and said I would have a long journey.
• She visited a fortune teller to ask about her future prospects.
• Many people are skeptical about what a fortune teller says.

Advanced Usage

• "to consult a fortune teller": to seek advice or predictions from such a person.
  • He decided to consult a fortune teller before making the big decision.
• Used in a figurative or skeptical sense to question the legitimacy of a prediction.
  • He's no better than a fortune teller; his economic forecasts are always wrong.

Variants and Related Words

• Fortune-telling (n): The practice or art of predicting the future.
  • Fortune-telling has been part of many cultures for centuries.
• Seer (n): A person who is supposed to be able, through supernatural insight, to see what the future holds. (More formal/literary than "fortune teller").
• Prophet (n): A person regarded as an inspired teacher or proclaimer of the will of God, often predicting future events. (Has a strong religious connotation).
• Palmist (n): A fortune teller who practices palmistry (reading palms).
• Clairvoyant (n): A person claiming to have a supernatural ability to perceive events in the future or beyond normal sensory contact.

Synonyms

• Soothsayer
• Oracle
• Augur
• Diviner
• Prognosticator

Related Phrases

• Crystal ball gazer: A fortune teller who uses a crystal ball. (Often used metaphorically for someone making uncertain predictions).
  • The analyst was just a crystal ball gazer; none of his stock tips panned out.
• Tarot card reader: A fortune teller who uses a deck of tarot cards.
  • The tarot card reader laid out the cards to reveal my path.

Noun

1. a person who foretells your personal future