predicate

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

See synonyms for predicate 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

Little has been done to lay the political predicates in either community for serious compromises.
Obama's Next Six Crises | Leslie H. Gelb | September 11, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
The more difficult problem was how any predicates at all can be applied to God without endangering his unity.
A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy | Isaac Husik
We know that it is a common practice in our daily speech to apply many different predicates to one and the same subject.
Plato and the Other Companions of Sokrates, 3rd ed. Volume III (of 4) | George Grote
Both are alike affirmative, with the same subject, but different predicates.
Plato and the Other Companions of Sokrates, 3rd ed. Volume III (of 4) | George Grote
A subject without predicates is an entity which has no existence in reason, 66.
The Delights of Wisdom Pertaining to Conjugial Love | Emanuel Swedenborg

They may be known as qualities, and expressed as predicates; or they may be considered as abstract things and expressed as nouns.
Thought-Culture | William Walker Atkinson

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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