What does "cassandra" mean?

A person who makes dire predictions, especially those which are not believed but which turn out to be true.

What is a synonym for "cassandra"?

Common synonyms include: admonisher, ariolater, astrologer, augur, calamity howler, cautioner.

Pronounced //kəˈsɛən.dɹə//.

//kəˈsɛən.dɹə// name, noun

name, noun ·Moderate ·College level

Noun

1
A person who makes dire predictions, especially those which are not believed but which turn out to be true.
""Well, take my word for it, those girls will never marry; marriage is like money—seem to want it, and you never get it." The Cassandra was scarcely departed, when the objects of her oracle appeared—Mrs. Fergusson and her two daughters."
2
Synonym of leather leaf (“Chamaedaphne calyculata”).
"Very commonly the forerunner of mat formation is the cassandra (Chamaedaphne calyculata). This shrub occurs both along the shore and along the edges of the advancing mat and frequently grows out several feet into the open water."

Proper Noun

1
A prophetess who was daughter of King Priam of Troy and his queen Hecuba. She captured the eye of Apollo and was granted the ability to see the future; however, she was destined never to be believed. Greek
"And so when Cassandra foretold the evils that were to come upon Troy, even her own people would not credit her words."
2
A female given name from Ancient Greek.
"But succeeding ages (little regarding S. Chrysosthome's admonition to the contrary) have recalled prophane names, so as now Diana, Cassandra, Hyppolytus, Venus, Lais, names of unhappy disaster are as rife, as ever they were in paganism."
3
An unincorporated community in Walker County, Georgia, United States.
4
A small borough in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States.

"E'en then – alas! to Trojan ears in vain – / Cassandra sang, and told in utterance plain / the coming doom."

From Ancient Greek Κασσάνδρα (Kassándra).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.