| Library / English Dictionary |
DIVINATION
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The art or gift of prophecy (or the pretense of prophecy) by supernatural means
Synonyms:
divination; foretelling; fortune telling; soothsaying
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("divination" is a kind of...):
prognostication; prophecy; vaticination (knowledge of the future (usually said to be obtained from a divine source))
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "divination"):
arithmancy (divination by means of numbers)
dowse; dowsing; rhabdomancy (searching for underground water or minerals by using a dowsing rod)
geomancy (divination by means of signs connected with the earth (as points taken at random or the arrangement of particles thrown down at random or from the configuration of a region and its relation to another))
hydromancy (divination by water (as by patterns seen in the ebb and flow of the tides))
lithomancy (divination by means of stones or stone talismans)
necromancy (conjuring up the dead, especially for prophesying)
oneiromancy (divination through the interpretation of dreams)
onomancy (divination by the letters of a name)
chirology; chiromancy; palm reading; palmistry (telling fortunes by lines on the palm of the hand)
pyromancy (divination by fire or flames)
Derivation:
divine (perceive intuitively or through some inexplicable perceptive powers)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A prediction uttered under divine inspiration
Synonyms:
divination; prophecy
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("divination" is a kind of...):
forecasting; foretelling; prediction; prognostication (a statement made about the future)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "divination"):
oracle (a prophecy (usually obscure or allegorical) revealed by a priest or priestess; believed to be infallible)
Derivation:
divine (perceive intuitively or through some inexplicable perceptive powers)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Successful conjecture by unusual insight or good luck
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("divination" is a kind of...):
conjecture; guess; hypothesis; speculation; supposition; surmisal; surmise (a message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence)
