predicate

noun pred·i·cate \ ˈpre-di-kət \

Updated on: 12 May 2018

Definition of predicate

1 a : 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

—

predicative

play \ˈpre-di-kə-tiv, -ˌkā-\ adjective

—

predicatively

adverb

See predicate defined for English-language learners

See predicate defined for kids

predicate was our Word of the Day on 05/03/2015. Hear the podcast!

Examples of predicate in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of predicate from the Web

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
This was the predicate for his recusal from the Intelligence Committee’s Russia investigation.

— philip bump, Washington Post, "A complete timeline of the events behind the memo that threatens to rip D.C. in two," 2 Feb. 2018
More than 200 federal crimes can be legal predicates for money laundering Byrne added in a Monday interview.

— USA TODAY, "Follow the money: Here's how money laundering works," 30 Oct. 2017
What Happened, whose title of course requires no further predicate, occasionally engages in blame, what-happened-wise: of Clinton herself, of Donald Trump, of Bernie Sanders, of James Comey, of Vladimir Putin, of the American media, of many more.

— megan garber, The Atlantic, "'What More Do You Need?'," 13 Sep. 2017
But that eventuality must not be discussed until the government is ready to lay the predicate for it with careful persuasion of the American public and America’s allies, and careful preparation for the military action required.

— eliot a. cohen, The Atlantic, "America Is Not Ready for a War in North Korea," 9 Aug. 2017
Some American officials had hoped to use the secret negotiations to obtain Mr. Warmbier’s release as the predicate for a dialogue with the North on other issues.

— mark landler and gardiner harris, New York Times, "China Falls Short on Curbing North Korea, Trump Says," 20 June 2017
What is the predicate for his actions in releasing this statement?

— chris cillizza, CNN, "What anonymous sources cost journalism," 18 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'predicate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of predicate

Middle English, from Late Latin praedicatum, from neuter of praedicatus

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

Other Grammar and Linguistics Terms

ablaut, allusion, anacoluthon, diacritic, gerund, idiom, infinitive, metaphor, semiotics, simile

predicate

verb pred·i·cate \ ˈpre-də-ˌkāt \

Definition of predicate

predicated; predicating

transitive verb

1 a : affirm, declare

b archaic : preach

2 a : 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

See predicate defined for English-language learners

Examples of predicate in a Sentence

she has predicated her theory on recent findings by other astronomers

Recent Examples of predicate from the Web

But its very nature pits it directly against the local tourism industry, which is predicated on the area’s natural beauty.

— sarah jones, The New Republic, "Whose Appalachia Is It, Anyway?," 8 May 2018
Should our safety be predicated on violence for other communities?

— julie zauzmer, Washington Post, "Churches make a drastic pledge in the name of social justice: To stop calling the police," 19 Apr. 2018
Although the results are predicated on the assumption that turnout among Democrats will reach a level similar to other special elections in the past year, Lamb still has a two point advantage when using a lower turnout model.

— Time, "Democrat Conor Lamb Is Leading Rick Saccone in Special Election," 12 Mar. 2018
Before the game, Kerr explained that the Warriors run fewer pick-and-rolls than almost any other NBA team, because their offense is predicated on movement of five players, more so than interaction of two players.

— scott ostler, San Antonio Express-News, "Warriors forced to put the cork back in the champagne," 23 Apr. 2018
Before the game, Kerr explained that the Warriors run fewer pick-and-rolls than almost any other NBA team, because their offense is predicated on movement of five guys, more so than interaction of two guys.

— scott ostler, San Francisco Chronicle, "Warriors forced to put the cork back in the Champagne," 22 Apr. 2018
Scott Frost’s up-tempo, spread offense was predicated on speed and athleticism, two of Anderson’s gifts.

— matt murschel, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Versatile UCF standout Otis Anderson wows new coaching staff," 17 Apr. 2018
Everything in New England is predicated on performance.

— tim sullivan, The Courier-Journal, "Judge suspects University of Louisville has been 'hiding the ball' with public records," 14 Apr. 2018
And that, perhaps, was the idea most invisible to me as a young reader: that the very social class that embodied the dream Gatsby wanted for himself was predicated on exclusion.

— jesmyn ward, New York Times, "Jay Gatsby: A Dreamer Doomed to Be Excluded. The Novelist Jesmyn Ward Explains.," 12 Apr. 2018

Did You Know?

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."

Origin and Etymology of predicate

Late Latin praedicatus, past participle of praedicare to assert, predicate logically, preach, from Latin, to proclaim, assert — more at preach

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1552

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

predicate Synonyms

Synonyms

base, ground, hang, rest;

Related Words

establish, found;

assume, postulate, premise, presume, presuppose, suppose;

predicate

adjective pred·i·cate \ ˈpre-di-kət \

Definition of predicate

: completing the meaning of a copula

predicate adjective

predicate noun

See predicate defined for English-language learners

Examples of predicate in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of predicate from the Web

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

First Known Use of predicate

1887

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Other Grammar and Linguistics Terms

ablaut, allusion, anacoluthon, diacritic, gerund, idiom, infinitive, metaphor, semiotics, simile

PREDICATE Defined for English Language Learners

predicate

noun

Definition of predicate for English Language Learners

grammar : the part of a sentence that expresses what is said about the subject

predicate

verb

Definition of predicate for English Language Learners

: to base (something) on or upon something else

predicate

adjective

Definition of predicate for English Language Learners

grammar : used after a linking verb to describe a noun that comes before the verb

PREDICATE Defined for Kids

predicate

noun pred·i·cate \ ˈpre-di-kət \

Definition of predicate for Students

: the part of a sentence or clause that tells what is said about the subject

“Rang” in “the doorbell rang” is the predicate.

predicate

adjective

Definition of predicate for Students

: completing the meaning of a linking verb

“Sweet” in “the sugar is sweet” is a predicate adjective.

Law Dictionary

predicate

transitive verb pred·i·cate \ ˈpre-də-ˌkāt \

legal Definition of predicate

predicated; predicating

: to set or ground on something : find a basis for —usually used with on

Jurisdiction over the lawsuit was predicated on the California contacts
—Daimler AG v. Bauman, 571 U.S. ___ (2014)

predicate

adjective pred·i·cate \ ˈpre-di-kət \

legal Definition of predicate

1 : occurring prior to and providing the basis or part of the basis for a conviction for another offense (as a RICO offense)

predicate acts

2 : occurring prior to and providing the basis for sentence enhancement upon conviction for a later offense

—

predicate

noun

Learn More about predicate

See words that rhyme with predicate Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for predicate Spanish Central: Translation of predicate Nglish: Translation of predicate for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of predicate for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up predicate? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

predicate

Definition of predicate

predicative

predicatively

predicate was our Word of the Day on 05/03/2015. Hear the podcast!

Examples of predicate in a Sentence

Recent Examples of predicate from the Web

Origin and Etymology of predicate

Other Grammar and Linguistics Terms

predicate

Definition of predicate

Examples of predicate in a Sentence

Recent Examples of predicate from the Web

Did You Know?

Origin and Etymology of predicate

predicate Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

predicate

Definition of predicate

Examples of predicate in a Sentence

Recent Examples of predicate from the Web

First Known Use of predicate

Other Grammar and Linguistics Terms

PREDICATE Defined for English Language Learners

predicate

Definition of predicate for English Language Learners

predicate

Definition of predicate for English Language Learners

predicate

Definition of predicate for English Language Learners

PREDICATE Defined for Kids

predicate

Definition of predicate for Students

predicate

Definition of predicate for Students

Law Dictionary

predicate

legal Definition of predicate

predicate

legal Definition of predicate

predicate

Learn More about predicate

Seen and Heard

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games

'Ingenious' and 'Ingenuous': More Than a Typo

9 Words from the Magical Realm

Words Used by Nabokov Quiz

Trending: Melania Trump Undergoes 'Embolization'

Ghost Word