A fortune-teller is a person who claims to predict the future or reveal hidden information about someone's life. Fortune-tellers use various methods like reading palms, gazing into crystal balls, interpreting tarot cards, or studying tea leaves. You might see them at carnivals or fairs, sitting in decorated booths offering to tell visitors what lies ahead.

Throughout history, people have been fascinated by the idea of knowing what's coming. Ancient rulers consulted fortune-tellers before making important decisions. Today, some people visit fortune-tellers for entertainment, while others take their predictions more seriously.

Many fortune-tellers work by making general statements that could apply to almost anyone (“you will face a challenge soon” or “someone close to you cares deeply”), then watching how people react to gather more clues. This technique is sometimes called cold reading. Scientists have repeatedly shown that fortune-telling methods have no real power to predict the future, but the practice remains popular as entertainment.

The word can also describe someone who seems unusually good at predicting what will happen, like a weather forecaster who's always right or a friend who somehow knows exactly what you're thinking. “How did you know I'd say that? You're such a fortune-teller!”