Definition

1. Noun:

   • The part of a sentence that expresses what is said about the subject: In grammar, the predicate is the part of a clause or sentence containing the verb and stating something about the subject (e.g., "is running" in "She is running").
   • Something that is affirmed or denied of the subject in logic: In logic, a predicate is what is asserted or denied about the subject of a proposition (e.g., "is mortal" in the proposition "Socrates is mortal").

2. Verb:

   • To state, affirm, or assert something as true or as a quality of something: To declare or assert a fact, attribute, or quality about a subject.
   • To base or establish something on a particular condition or fact: To found or ground a statement, argument, or action upon a specific premise or condition.
   • To make something the grammatical predicate in a proposition: In grammar, to have a word or phrase function as the predicate of a sentence.

Examples

• Noun:

  • In the sentence "Birds fly," the word "fly" is the predicate.
  • The logical predicate in the statement "All humans are mortal" is "are mortal."

• Verb:

  • The theory predicates that all matter is composed of atoms.
  • Success in this project is predicated on careful planning.
  • In the sentence "The sky is blue," the adjective "blue" is predicated of the subject "sky."

Advanced Usage

• "to predicate something on/upon something": To base or establish something on a particular condition or fact.
  • Their agreement was predicated on mutual trust.
• Predicative Use (Adjective): Describing an adjective or noun that follows a linking verb and describes the subject.
  • In "She is happy," "happy" is a predicative adjective.

Variants and Related Words

• Predication (n): The action of affirming or asserting something.
  • The predication of human rights is fundamental to the constitution.
• Predicative (adj): Relating to or acting as a predicate.
  • "Asleep" is a predicative adjective in "The baby is asleep."
• Predicator (n): A linguistic term for the verbal element of a predicate.

Synonyms

• Noun: Verb phrase, assertion.
• Verb: Assert, declare, affirm, postulate, base, found.

Related Phrases

• Predicate calculus: A formal system in symbolic logic for representing propositions and their relationships.
• Predicate nominative: A noun or pronoun that follows a linking verb and renames or identifies the subject.
  • In "He is the king," "king" is a predicate nominative.

Idioms

(No common idioms are directly formed with the word "predicate.")

Noun

1. one of the two main constituents of a sentence; the predicate contains the verb and its complements
2. (logic) what is predicated of the subject of a proposition; the second term in a proposition is predicated of the first term by means of the copula
   • `Socrates is a man' predicates manhood of Socrates

Verb

1. involve as a necessary condition of consequence; as in logic
   • solving the problem is predicated on understanding it well
2. affirm or declare as an attribute or quality of
   • The speech predicated the fitness of the candidate to be President
3. make the (grammatical) predicate in a proposition
   • The predicate `dog' is predicated of the subject `Fido' in the sentence `Fido is a dog'