prophecy
part of speech
noun (a prophecy, prophecies)
meaning for a pupil
1) A statement that something will happen in the future, especially one made by someone believed to have special knowledge: «The witch's prophecy came true.» tree →
2) (Bible, church) A message that Christians and Jews believe comes from God, given through a prophet, sometimes about the future and often about how people should live. tree →
3) The power or act of saying what will happen in the future. tree →
sense in the lessons
In stories and myths prophecies drive the plot (a chosen one, a curse, a hero's fate). In religious education, the books of the prophets in the Bible contain prophecies; Christians believe some Old Testament prophecies point to Jesus. In science we make «predictions» with evidence, not prophecies. Phrases: «a prophecy came true», «fulfil a prophecy», «self-fulfilling prophecy».
examples
- The old prophecy said a girl from the village would save the kingdom. tree →
- The prophecy came true at the end of the book. tree →
- Isaiah's prophecies are read in church at Christmas. tree →
- Christians believe Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the prophets. tree →
- Saying «I'll fail» can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. tree →
- The fortune teller's prophecy was just a guess. tree →
- In the myth, the king tried to escape the prophecy but could not. tree →
- So his mother’s prophecy had come true, after all. tree →
note
Noun «prophecy» (ends -cy, sounds like «see») versus verb «prophesy» (ends -sy, sounds like «sigh»): the prophet prophesied a prophecy. Plural: prophecies. A self-fulfilling prophecy comes true because people believe it. A scientific prediction is based on evidence and can be tested.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «prophecy» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.