predicate

[ noun, adjective pred-i-kit; verb pred-i-keyt ]

See synonyms for: predicate predicated on Thesaurus.com

noun

Grammar. (in many languages, such as English) one of the two main parts of a sentence, containing the verb and any of its objects, modifiers, or other completions, and generally expressing an action, state, or condition: for example, got here quickly in Larry got here quickly, or ate a cookie in I ate a cookie, or slept in The exhausted student slept.: Compare subject (def. 9).
Logic. that which is affirmed or denied concerning the subject of a proposition.

verb (used with object),pred·i·cat·ed, pred·i·cat·ing.

to found or derive (a statement, action, etc.); base (usually followed by on): He predicated his behavior on his faith in humanity.The modern situation is predicated on the illusion of total independence.
to proclaim; declare; affirm; assert: A spokesperson predicated that the Supreme Court wouldn't overrule the doctrine of dual sovereignty.

Logic.
- to affirm or assert (something) of the subject of a proposition.
- to make (a term) the predicate of such a proposition.
to connote; imply: His retraction predicates a change of attitude.

verb (used without object),pred·i·cat·ed, pred·i·cat·ing.

to make an affirmation or assertion.

adjective

predicated.
Grammar. belonging to the predicate: a predicate noun.

Origin of predicate

First recorded in 1400–50; (noun) late Middle English, from Middle French predicat or from Medieval Latin praedicātum, noun use of neuter of Latin praedicātus “declared publicly,” past participle of praedicāre “to declare publicly, assert” (see pre-, indicate); (verb and adjective) from Latin praedicātus; see preach

Other words from predicate

pred·i·ca·tion [pred-i-key-shuhn], /ˌprɛd ɪˈkeɪ ʃən/, noun
pred·i·ca·tive [pred-i-key-tiv, -kuh-; British pri-dik-uh-tiv], /ˈprɛd ɪˌkeɪ tɪv, -kə-; British prɪˈdɪk ə tɪv/, adjective
pred·i·ca·tive·ly, adverb
non·pred·i·ca·tive, adjective
non·pred·i·ca·tive·ly, adverb
sub·pred·i·cate, noun
sub·pred·i·ca·tive, adjective
un·pred·i·cat·ed, adjective
un·pred·i·ca·tive, adjective
un·pred·i·ca·tive·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use predicate in a sentence

That is, of course, predicated on populations having access to the Internet and a basic education in areas like writing, math, or statistics.
The rise of the MOOCs: How Coursera is retraining the American workforce for a post-COVID economy | Beth Kowitt | November 16, 2020 | Fortune
All major veterans benefits programs, from Revolutionary War pensions to the GI Bill, are predicated on the notion that the dangers of military service merit forms of gratitude that secure future benefits.
Veterans Day is a time to consider how to reward front-line covid-19 workers | James Grossman, Laura McEnaney | November 11, 2020 | Washington Post
Part of that approach has been predicated on the idea that the country would be able to handle a surge in new cases — but no effort appears to have been made to actually accommodate it.
The coronavirus pandemic continues to be predictably deadly | Philip Bump | November 11, 2020 | Washington Post
The world’s second-biggest economy had become a market system that was fundamentally different from the capitalist model upon which most international trade laws and norms are predicated.
Robert Lighthizer Blew Up 60 Years of Trade Policy. Nobody Knows What Happens Next. | by Lydia DePillis | October 13, 2020 | ProPublica
It may be creating a predicate for the Justice Department to make inflated announcements about mail-in vote fraud and the like in the run-up to the election.
DOJ Frees Federal Prosecutors to Take Steps That Could Interfere With Elections, Weakening Long-standing Policy | by Robert Faturechi and Justin Elliott | October 7, 2020 | ProPublica

They informed us that the money and Medicaid payments we received were predicated on a mistake.
Medicaid Will Give You Money for At-Home Care, but You Might Wait Years | Elizabeth Picciuto | December 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Mainstream blockbusters, especially action flicks, are often predicated on out of this world plots.
Young Adult Novel Adaptations Put Mainstream Blockbusters to Shame | Amy Zimmerman | June 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
But the rise of these firms is predicated almost entirely on success in their home markets.
Yes We Can Still Market: Why U.S. Brands Remain World’s Most Valuable | Daniel Gross | June 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
They are predicated on an assumption of fossil fuel scarcity and U.S. vulnerability to volatile global oil markets.
Bringing U.S. Energy Policy Into the 21st Century | Will Marshall | April 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
“CSI which goes on the air at nine is predicated on sexual predators,” said Holland.
Porn's Behind-the-Camera Feminists | Emily Shire | February 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
That is, if a truth be asserted of an individual, it can therefore be predicated of the class to which the individual belongs.
English: Composition and Literature | W. F. (William Franklin) Webster
Their liking had matured into an attachment, which might have been predicated upon their consonance of feeling and sentiment.
Alone | Marion Harland
Except that they all resemble each other more than they resemble anything else, nothing whatever could be predicated of the class.
A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive | John Stuart Mill
Movement therefore cannot be predicated of infinity, without also attributing stability to it.
Plotinos: Complete Works, v. 3 | Plotinos (Plotinus)
In general, everything which is predicated of an object either comes to it from without, or is its actualization.
Plotinos: Complete Works, v. 3 | Plotinos (Plotinus)

British Dictionary definitions for predicate

predicate

verb(ˈprɛdɪˌkeɪt) (mainly tr)

(also intr; when tr, may take a clause as object) to proclaim, declare, or affirm
to imply or connote

(foll by on or upon) to base or found (a proposition, argument, etc)
logic
- to assert or affirm (a property, characteristic, or condition) of the subject of a proposition
- to make (a term, expression, etc) the predicate of a proposition

noun(ˈprɛdɪkɪt)

grammar
- the part of a sentence in which something is asserted or denied of the subject of a sentence; one of the two major components of a sentence, the other being the subject
- (as modifier): a predicate adjective
logic
- an expression that is derived from a sentence by the deletion of a name
- a property, characteristic, or attribute that may be affirmed or denied of something. The categorial statement all men are mortal relates two predicates, is a man and is mortal
- the term of a categorial proposition that is affirmed or denied of its subject. In this example all men is the subject, and mortal is the predicate
- a function from individuals to truth values, the truth set of the function being the extension of the predicate

adjective(ˈprɛdɪkɪt)

of or relating to something that has been predicated

Origin of predicate

C16: from Latin praedicāre to assert publicly, from prae in front, in public + dīcere to say

Derived forms of predicate

predication, noun

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

Cultural definitions for predicate

predicate

[ (pred-i-kuht) ]

The part of a sentence that shows what is being said about the subject. The predicate includes the main verb and all its modifiers. In the following sentence, the italicized portion is the predicate: “Olga's dog was the ugliest creature on four legs.”

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