predication
Americannoun
-
an act or instance of asserting something.
Although he struggled academically, the school's predication that he couldn't learn and succeed without medication was thankfully proven false.
-
an act or instance of basing an action or statement on something else.
His video installation Revolution explores lingering Socialist and Muslim dreams in Egypt and their continued predication on drama and violence.
-
Grammar, Logic. an act or instance of combining a subject and a predicate, according to rules of syntax, so as to make a statement about something.
What is the function, for example, of the predication “Whales are mammals” in a discourse?
-
Law. evidence of possible criminal action, sufficient to warrant a charge or inquiry.
There were a number of things that caused us to believe we had adequate predication to open the investigation.
-
Rare. prediction.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of predication
First recorded in 1300–50, for an earlier sense; from Latin praedicātiōn-, stem of praedicātiō “announcement, declaration,” from praedicāre “to declare publicly, assert”; see predicate ( def. ), -ion ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Raymond N. Hulser, a prosecutor in charge of the public integrity section at the time, told Mr. Durham that the Washington case that was based on the book lacked predication.
From New York Times ● May 22, 2023
There is adequate predication for the Treasury Department, the FEC and the Department of Justice to take a look.
From Salon ● Jun. 6, 2022
FBI assistant director Jill C. Tyson replied in a December 2021 letter that although the bureau’s assessments “do not require a particular factual predication, they do require an authorized purpose.”
From Washington Times ● Jan. 14, 2022
“Any time you open a case against a — or a subpoena against a member of Congress or a journalist, there’s a very high predication to that,” said McCaul, a former Justice Department prosecutor.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 13, 2021
Note that in the last illustration, in particular, the condensation consists in reducing predication, in merely removing a verb and a pronoun from the sentence.
From News Writing The Gathering , Handling and Writing of News Stories by M. Lyle (Matthew Lyle) Spencer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
