oracular

[aw-rak-yuh-ler, oh-rak-]

adjective

1. of the nature of, resembling, or suggesting an oracle.

   an oracular response.

   Synonyms: prophetic

2. giving forth utterances or decisions as if by special inspiration or authority.

   Synonyms: dogmatic, authoritative

3. uttered or delivered as if divinely inspired or infallible; sententious.

4. ambiguous; obscure.

   Synonyms: equivocal

5. portentous; ominous.

oracular

/ ɒˈrækjʊlə /

adjective

1. of or relating to an oracle

   Apollo had his oracular shrine at Delphi

2. wise and prophetic

   an oracular political thriller

3. mysterious or ambiguous

Other Word Forms

• oracularly adverb
• oracularity noun
• oracularness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of oracular¹

First recorded in 1625–35; from Latin ōrācul(um) oracle + -ar ¹

Example Sentences

Speaking to independent news site The Handbasket, Onion CEO Ben Collins acknowledged the news outlet’s “oracular ability to predict the next great American horror,” but the ad’s impeccable timing was prescient in another way.

From Salon

Some months after the events of 2023’s “Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One,” the all-knowing, oracular artificial intelligence program called the Entity has all but taken the world into its digital grasp.

From Salon

She worked with a snake to put herself in an oracular trance.

From Scientific American

As he explained of his nom de plume, in typically oracular fashion: “One is a beginning and two is the next step. Two is forever.”

From New York Times

I didn't want her to be an oracular character, or a fixer.

From Salon