an authoritative person who divines the future
"The ancient prophet claimed he could divine the future by interpreting signs in the stars."
someone who speaks by divine inspiration; someone who is an interpreter of the will of God
"The ancient prophet claimed to have received a direct message from God about the future."
Someone who speaks by divine inspiration.
"The ancient prophet claimed to speak directly by divine inspiration when he delivered his message from the mountain top."
In plain English: A prophet is someone who claims to receive messages from God about what will happen in the future.
"The prophet warned his followers to prepare for the coming storm before anyone else believed him."
Usage: Use prophet to describe someone claiming or believed to receive messages from God, rather than merely predicting the future without spiritual authority. This term often distinguishes religious figures like Moses or Muhammad from secular forecasters or soothsayers.
Any of the prophets mentioned in the Bible, especially an author of one of the Prophets.
"The ancient text was studied by scholars to understand the life and writings of each prophet mentioned in the Bible."
The word "prophet" comes from the Latin prophēta, which was borrowed into Middle English via Anglo-Norman to replace an older Germanic term meaning seer. Its original Greek roots combine words for "before" and "to speak," describing someone who speaks on behalf of a god.