scry
/skɹaɪ/
scry verb: to magically or supernaturally look into or (as an entertainer) predict (the future), using crystal balls or other objects.
Verb (1)
scry (third-person singular simple present scries, present participle scrying, simple past and past participle scried)
- To magically or supernaturally look into or (as an entertainer) predict (the future), using crystal balls or other objects.
- The fortune teller claimed she could scry [into] the future.
- To use magical means to see or look into (something that is happening outside one's sight, e.g. inside a building or far away, or in the distant past, or future, etc).
- Scrying spells can simply toggle the state of hidden objects to the revealed state, […]2014 April 22, Jeff Howard, Game Magic: A Designer's Guide to Magic Systems in Theory and Practice, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 149
- […] with the loss of Mekha, the shields and wardings on the temple had weakened. That meant Alonnen could now scry inside directly, albeit with a fuzzy view and no real hope of clear sound. On hearing that, Guardian-apprentice Pelai had suggested he could send in a whole series of clever...2014 May 6, Jean Johnson, The Guild, Penguin, →ISBN, page 239
- To descry; to see.
- […]two ſhepheards curres, had ſcryde
A rauenous Wolfe amongſt the ſcattered flockes.1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book V, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, page 352
- […]two ſhepheards curres, had ſcryde
Noun
scry (plural scries)
Verb (2)
scry (third-person singular simple present scries, present participle scrying, simple past and past participle scried)
- To proclaim.
Examples of scry in a sentence
- That meant Alonnen could now scry inside directly, albeit with a fuzzy view and no real hope of clear sound.2014 May 6, Jean Johnson, The Guild, Penguin, →ISBN, page 239:
- I'm going to scry inside that house.” “You sure that's a good idea?” Naleni asked.2020 January 26, Stephanie Flint, The Restless Sands of Neel, Infinitas Publishing, page 66:
- She had explained its purpose, how it was used to scry what was and what might be.2023 October 31, Garrett Boatman, The Clocks of Midnight, Crossroad Press:
Forms of scry
| Verb | |
|---|---|
| third-person singular present | scries |
| present participle | scrying |
| past participle | scried |
| past | scried |
| alternative form | skry |
| Noun | |
| plural | scries |
Origin of scry
From Middle English scrien, scryen, a shortened form of Middle English ascrien, from Old French escrier (“to cry out”). Influenced by Middle English descrien (“to descry”).
From Middle English ascry, ascrie, escrie, from Anglo-Norman ascri, from Old French escri.
Words formed from scry
Words that rhyme with scry
Questions about scry
- What does scry mean?
- Scry means to magically or supernaturally look into or (as an entertainer) predict (the future), using crystal balls or other objects.
- How do you use scry in a sentence?
- That meant Alonnen could now scry inside directly, albeit with a fuzzy view and no real hope of clear sound.
- What part of speech is scry?
- Scry can be a verb or a noun.
- How do you pronounce scry?
- Scry is pronounced /skɹaɪ/.
- What is the past tense of scry?
- The past tense of scry is scried.
Words near scry in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: scry (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-scry.wav.
Cite this entry: “scry.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/scry. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.