predicate

noun

pred·i·cate | \ ˈpre-di-kət

Definition of predicate

(Entry 1 of 3)

1a : something that is affirmed or denied of the subject in a proposition in logic

b : a term designating a property or relation

2 : the part of a sentence or clause that expresses what is said of the subject and that usually consists of a verb with or without objects, complements, or adverbial modifiers

predicate

verb

pred·i·cate | \ ˈpre-də-ˌkāt

predicated; predicating

Definition of predicate (Entry 2 of 3)

transitive verb

1a : affirm, declare

b archaic : preach

2a : to assert to be a quality, attribute, or property —used with following of predicates intelligence of humans

b : to make (a term) the predicate in a proposition

3 : found, base —usually used with on the theory is predicated on recent findings

4 : imply

predicate

adjective

pred·i·cate | \ ˈpre-di-kət

Definition of predicate (Entry 3 of 3)

: completing the meaning of a copula predicate adjective predicate noun

Other Words from predicate Synonyms Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about predicate

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Synonyms for predicate

Synonyms: Verb

base, ground, hang, rest

Did You Know?

Verb

The verb predicate means, among other things, "to found or base." Despite being attested as early as 1754, that sense has endured attack as a misuse on the grounds that it is not true to its Latin root praedicare, meaning "to proclaim, assert." This criticism, however, has subsided. Predicate can also mean "imply," but be careful about using it to mean "predict"-that use does appear in published sources sometimes, but it's an easy target for usage commentators, who are bound to consider it an all-too-predictable error. The meaning of predicate directly tapped from its Latin root-that is, "to assert"-most often occurs in metaphysic contemplation. A simplistic example of such use is the statement "if y is said to be x (e.g., an apple is a fruit), everything that is predicated of y is predicated of x."

Examples of predicate in a Sentence

Noun

In the sentence “The child threw the ball,” the subject is “the child” and the predicate is “threw the ball.”

Verb

she has predicated her theory on recent findings by other astronomers

Adjective

In “the sun is hot,” “hot” is a predicate adjective.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

This represents a pretty aggressive vision to move the pool of predicates in the direction of new performance standards. — Thomas M. Burton, WSJ, "FDA Is Revamping Clearance Procedures for Medical Devices," 26 Nov. 2018 Here's the problem, Judge, the Logan Act was the predicate for going after Lieutenant General Mike Flynn when Sally Yates was the Deputy Attorney General. — Fox News, "Carter Page reacts to calls to declassify FISA documents," 15 Sep. 2018 Thus, there is no predicate of criminal behavior necessary to begin such a review. — Murray Waas, Vox, "Exclusive: Trump loyalist Matthew Whitaker was counseling the White House on investigating Clinton," 9 Nov. 2018 The Nunes memo that alleged a political and abusive predicate for the Russia probe wasn't exactly embraced by Republicans, but it's contributed to Trump's narrative. — Aaron Blake, Washington Post, "Trey Gowdy’s total rebuke of Trump’s ‘spying’ narrative — and the pattern it fits," 30 May 2018 The cheerleaders’ legal claims The factual assertions detailed above serve as predicates for the specific legal claims levied against the Texans. — Michael Mccann, SI.com, "NFL Teams Previously Have Settled in Cheerleader Lawsuits. Will Texans' Ex-Cheerleaders Set Different Precedent?," 25 June 2018 But in drawing these lines, analysts said, Mr. Giuliani may be signaling to Mr. Mueller the outer boundaries of the president’s tolerance or even laying a predicate for later firing the special counsel. — Peter Baker, New York Times, "Trump Team’s Mueller Strategy: Limit the Investigation and Attack the Investigators," 21 May 2018 Xie’s swallowed commands, shorn of their predicates, suggest that the rules of her art cannot be codified. — Ben Taub, The New Yorker, "Jenny Xie Writes a Sightseer’s Guide to the Self," 30 Apr. 2018 Despite this, some Republicans have suggested that the Steele dossier was a predicate for the investigation — a suggestion aimed at undermining the broader Russia probe that is currently imperiling the White House. — Aaron Blake, Washington Post, "The White House's broken promise on the Democratic memo," 10 Feb. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The fourth-year pro is a big, strong pocket passer, which is still what mostly predicates NFL offensive success. — Max Meyer, SI.com, "AFC Teams That Are the Best Bets to Go Over Their Win Total," 26 Aug. 2019 That tantalizing possibility is predicated on many things, but certainly, two things must happen. — Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post, "Rockies’ starting pitching — a disaster this season — looks bad again next year," 25 Aug. 2019 This investment thesis was predicated on the view that both the market size as well as the value of these super cars would continue to rise indefinitely, which, of course, is never a great idea. — Fortune, "Letter From Pebble Beach: What a Disappointing Classic Car Auction Tells us About the 1%—and the Economy," 24 Aug. 2019 But the dangers that the suppression of speech are meant to prevent are almost always hypothetical — often wildly speculative and predicated on uncharitable assumptions about our neighbors and on flattering ones about ourselves. — Noah Rothman, National Review, "Kevin Williamson’s Revolt against the Hivemind," 25 July 2019 Her direct gaze at the camera is not a solicitation of the viewer, an appeal for recognition, or a look predicated on mutuality. — Longreads, "A Minor Figure," 20 July 2019 Such dates are also predicated on United Launch Alliance working out the issues, noted above, with its Atlas V rocket. — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, "Rocket Report: Falcon 9 beats Pegasus on price, Vega has its first failure," 19 July 2019 The cost savings of €5bn ($6bn) that FCA claimed for the deal were partly predicated on the continuation of Renault’s alliance with Nissan and Mitsubishi. — The Economist, "A merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Renault is no more," 6 June 2019 Name a resonant issue, theme or innovation that pertains to pro football in 2019—offenses predicated on passing, teams moving markets, the NFL as the dominant American sport—and odds are good that Davis preordained it. — Jon Wertheim, SI.com, "How the Influence of Al Davis Shaped the Modern NFL," 27 Aug. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

So that predicate for the Mueller investigation is now very weak. — Fox News, "How can the US assess North Korea's nuclear arsenal?," 17 June 2018 Again, not the identity of the informant, but the predicate documents, the FBI's 302's and the 1023's that will answer the question of whether or not there was an appropriate purpose behind this as opposed to an inappropriate political purpose. — Fox News, "VP Mike Pence on Russia probe, alleged campaign surveillance," 22 May 2018 The next rooms contained stacks of documents and books, along with predicate-logic equations scrawled on the walls. — Nimrod Nir, Newsweek, "Welcome to Pyramiden, a Mysterious Soviet Ghost Town, Where I Was Imprisoned by Nature—and My Poor Judgment," 14 Feb. 2018 Victims often dismiss other abusive tactics, such as a husband forbidding his wife from seeing her family or friends, that predicate any physical violence. — Elizabeth Chuck, NBC News, "Rob Porter allegations detail common traits of domestic abuse, experts say," 9 Feb. 2018 The predicate belief of the Trump administration is that fomenting disruption and chaos be done on the grandest scale. — Dahlia Lithwick, Slate Magazine, "Was Trump’s Pardon of Joe Arpaio Unconstitutional?," 15 Sep. 2017 A predicate crime wasn’t required in order to ruin Scooter Libby’s career or send septuagenarian Joe Bonanno to prison. — Carl M. Cannon, Orange County Register, "Trump-Russia: Cover-up worse than the crime?," 18 June 2017 Indiana’s 21st Century Scholar and Frank O’Brian Grant, both approved by the Indiana General Assembly in 2013, also predicate funding on earning 30 credits. — Lisa Ward, WSJ, "The High Price of Not Completing College in Four Years," 8 June 2017 Currently, the FDA’s rules have a predicate date giving it authority over all vaping products introduced since Feb. 15, 2007, or virtually all vaping products on the market. — Bradley J. Fikes, sandiegouniontribune.com, "'Vaping Congressman' introduces bill to ease FDA's e-cigarette restrictions," 29 Apr. 2017

predicate

Definition of predicate

Other Words from predicate

Synonyms for predicate

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Examples of predicate in a Sentence

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