fortune teller
noun
variants
or less commonly fortune-teller
plural fortune tellers also fortune-tellers
: someone or something with the supposed ability to foretell future events and especially the details of a person's future
For thousands of years, people have gone to fortune tellers because they wanted to know whom they would marry or whether they were going to be rich or famous.—
Muse
MuseSome of the fortune-tellers he encounters are ludicrously off the mark; others are uncannily accurate.—Michael Upchurch
Michael UpchurchYou do not have to be a fortune teller to realize that sneezes, sniffles, plugged up noses and red eyes will be making their appearance in most of our houses within the next two months.—Glenn Haege
Glenn HaegeBy the early 1900s it was possible to get a "psychic reading" from a mechanical fortune teller at the local penny arcade.—Ralph and Terry Koval
Ralph and Terry Koval
sometimes, specifically
: a child's toy that consists of paper folded into four pyramid-shaped parts which are manipulated by the fingers to open and close with each part having a flap that can be unfolded to reveal an answer to one's question about the future : cootie catcher
Some of the most commonly made folk toys are made of paper: fortune tellers (also known as cootie catchers), paper airplanes, spitballs shot through straws … —Lowell (Massachusetts) Sun
Lowell (Massachusetts) Sun Your child may choose to decorate the fortune teller … with stickers or drawings, or to color the outside squares instead of writing the name of a color. —Sally Worsham
Sally Worsham Synonyms
Examples of fortune teller in a Sentence
the carnival's fortune-teller should have predicted that I'd pass right by her
Recent Examples on the Web
Maybe Hudson will meet a fortune teller in the next few days in order to get the ball rolling.
—Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 20 July 2024
Of course, time may be running out for our fortune teller—and for every witch who had the misfortune of joining Agatha’s quest.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024
Explore the village and meet ghosts, witches, the Headless Horseman and a fortune teller along the way.
—Luann Gibbs, The Enquirer, 9 Oct. 2024
Trick or treat through the village and meet ghosts, witches, the Headless Horseman, and a fortune teller.
—Luann Gibbs, The Enquirer, 19 Sep. 2024
But Agatha All Along gives Hahn even more room to flex and vamp as Agatha’s hunt for a coven leads her to other witches like wellness guru Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata), fortune teller Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone), and security guard Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn) — all of whom see her as a threat.
—Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge, 19 Sep. 2024
Divinations will be provided by the fortune teller Lilia Calderu (Patti Lupone, hitting all the right camp notes).
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 18 Sep. 2024
More recently, courts have increasingly viewed bans on fortune tellers with skepticism on First Amendment grounds.
—Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 14 June 2024
One of those creepy mechanical fortune tellers found at the carnivals of yesteryear offers one of them the chance to return to life, setting up a showdown for the youths to make their case for living.
—Matthew J. Palm, Orlando Sentinel, 22 July 2024
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Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 20 July 2024
Of course, time may be running out for our fortune teller—and for every witch who had the misfortune of joining Agatha’s quest.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024
Explore the village and meet ghosts, witches, the Headless Horseman and a fortune teller along the way.
—Luann Gibbs, The Enquirer, 9 Oct. 2024
Trick or treat through the village and meet ghosts, witches, the Headless Horseman, and a fortune teller.
—Luann Gibbs, The Enquirer, 19 Sep. 2024
But Agatha All Along gives Hahn even more room to flex and vamp as Agatha’s hunt for a coven leads her to other witches like wellness guru Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata), fortune teller Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone), and security guard Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn) — all of whom see her as a threat.
—Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge, 19 Sep. 2024
Divinations will be provided by the fortune teller Lilia Calderu (Patti Lupone, hitting all the right camp notes).
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 18 Sep. 2024
More recently, courts have increasingly viewed bans on fortune tellers with skepticism on First Amendment grounds.
—Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 14 June 2024
One of those creepy mechanical fortune tellers found at the carnivals of yesteryear offers one of them the chance to return to life, setting up a showdown for the youths to make their case for living.
—Matthew J. Palm, Orlando Sentinel, 22 July 2024
Dictionary Entries Near fortune teller
Cite this Entry
“Fortune teller.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fortune%20teller. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
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