oracle

[awr-uh-kuh l, or-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR oracle ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

(especially in ancient Greece) an utterance, often ambiguous or obscure, given by a priest or priestess at a shrine as the response of a god to an inquiry.

the agency or medium giving such responses.

a shrine or place at which such responses were given: the oracle of Apollo at Delphi.

a person who delivers authoritative, wise, or highly regarded and influential pronouncements.

a divine communication or revelation.

any person or thing serving as an agency of divine communication.

any utterance made or received as authoritative, extremely wise, or infallible.

oracles, the Scriptures.

the holy of holies of the Temple built by Solomon in Jerusalem. I Kings 6:16, 19–23.

Nearby words

Origin of oracle

1350–1400; Middle English < Old French < Latin ōrāculum, equivalent to ōrā(re) to plead (see oration) + -culum -cle²

Can be confusedauricle oracle

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for oracle

And, anyway, what would it take to be a Samuel Gompers at Microsoft, Facebook, Oracle, Amazon, or Google?
Up To a Point: Robber Barons Make Way For Robber Nerds|P. J. O’Rourke|August 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Just this week, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said Apple was adrift without Steve Jobs.
Carl Icahn’s Tweets Send Apple Stock Above $500|William O’Connor|August 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST
A few months before the Autonomy purchase was unveiled in August 2011, Oracle boss Larry Ellison passed on the chance.
HP Board Member Marc Andreessen, an Internet Pioneer, Deserves Some of the Blame for the Company’s Failures|Rob Cox|November 21, 2012|DAILY BEAST
He gave us a stunning lecture on the topic of the Oracle (you can get a taste of what it was like here).
What's Wrong With Self-Help Books?|Megan McArdle|September 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST

People seemed to have believed that the Oracle was really pointing the way for them.
What's Wrong With Self-Help Books?|Megan McArdle|September 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Shall I ever believe that God has commanded a tabernacle to be built to have His oracle heard from the ark in it?
Marie Bashkirtseff (From Childhood to Girlhood)|Marie Bashkirtseff
Then the oracle gave voice: "'Fraid the batteries won't do; they're awful weak!"
The River and I|John G. Neihardt
An oracle is ever veiled in obscurity; the more we believe that we know its meaning, the less do we understand it.
Psyche|Molire
She turned now swiftly to Nuova, stretched out her antenn and wings dramatically, and spoke as with the voice of an oracle.
Nuova|Vernon Kellogg
An oracle declared that Veii could not be taken until the waters of the lake found a passage to the sea.
A Smaller History of Rome|William Smith and Eugene Lawrence

British Dictionary definitions for oracle

oracle

noun

a prophecy, often obscure or allegorical, revealed through the medium of a priest or priestess at the shrine of a god

a shrine at which an oracular god is consulted

an agency through which a prophecy is transmitted

any person or thing believed to indicate future action with infallible authority

a statement believed to be infallible and authoritative

Bible

a message from God
the holy of holies in the Israelite temple

Word Origin for oracle

C14: via Old French from Latin ōrāculum, from ōrāre to request

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for oracle

oracle

late 14c., "a message from a god, expressed by divine inspiration," from Old French oracle "temple, house of prayer; oracle" (12c.) and directly from Latin oraculum "divine announcement, oracle; place where oracles are given," from orare "pray, plead" (see orator), with material instrumental suffix -culo-. In antiquity, "the agency or medium of a god," also "the place where such divine utterances were given." This sense is attested in English from c.1400.