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The verb predicate means, among other things, "to found or base." Despite being attested as early as 1754, that sense has endured attack as a misuse on the grounds that it is not true to its Latin root praedicare, meaning "to proclaim, assert." This criticism, however, has subsided. Predicate can also mean "imply," but be careful about using it to mean "predict"-that use does appear in published sources sometimes, but it's an easy target for usage commentators, who are bound to consider it an all-too-predictable error. The meaning of predicate directly tapped from its Latin root-that is, "to assert"-most often occurs in metaphysic contemplation. A simplistic example of such use is the statement "if y is said to be x (e.g., an apple is a fruit), everything that is predicated of y is predicated of x."
Synonyms
Examples of predicate in a Sentence
Barbara McQuade, TIME, 4 June 2024
Blaming the victim does not work here since the predicate for Hamas’ attack had less to do with anything Netanyahu did or did not do, and everything to do with Hamas and Iran intending to sabotage the potential normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
—TIME, 8 Oct. 2023
Simone McCarthy, CNN, 19 June 2024
TikTok is awash in warnings that young men in the U.S. could soon be drafted into military service and panicked reactions to that prospect — but all of it is predicated on a misinterpretation of a bill currently making its way through Congress.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 18 June 2024
Ehsan Jahandarpour, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2023
Moreover, government officials have known–for decades–that FinCEN’s enforcement actions typically come after a predicate crime has already been discovered.
—Norbert Michel, Forbes, 26 Apr. 2022
See all Example Sentences for predicate 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'predicate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Predicate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/predicate. Accessed 27 Jun. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
predicate
1 of 3 noun
predicate
2 of 3 verb
predicate
3 of 3 adjective
Legal Definition
predicate
1 of 2 transitive verb
Daimler AG v. Bauman, 571 U.S. ___ (2014)predicate
2 of 2 adjective
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