oracle

/ˈɔɹəkəl/

oracle noun: a shrine dedicated to some prophetic deity.

Noun

oracle (plural oracles)

A shrine dedicated to some prophetic deity.
- The oracles are dumb; / No voice or hideous hum / Runs through the arched roof in words deceiving.1629, John Milton, “On the Morning of Christs Nativity”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, →OCLC
A person such as a priest through whom the deity is supposed to respond with prophecy or advice.

Synonyms:

prophet
A prophetic response, often enigmatic or allegorical, so given.
- The several oracles included in this haftarah presumably were uttered at different times to the people in exile, presenting diverse themes and using distinct styles.2001, David L. Lieber, Jules Harlow, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, page 94
(archaic, figuratively) Something said that must come true or cannot be countermanded; an inexorable command or declaration.
- Fight all couragiouſly and be you kings,
  I ſpeake it, and my words are oracles.c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC...
- Shee ſtiles her ſelfe their Chiefe, and ſweares ſhee will command; / And, what-ſo-ere ſhee ſaith, for Oracles muſt ſtand.1612, Michael Drayton, “The Second Song”, in [John Selden], editor, Poly-Olbion. Or A Chorographicall Description of Tracts, Riuers, Mountaines, Forests, and Other Parts of this Renowned Isle of...
A person considered to be a source of wisdom.
- a literary oracle
- oracles of mode1847, Alfred Tennyson, “(please specify the page number, or |part=Prologue, I to VII, or conclusion)”, in The Princess: A Medley, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC
Synonyms:

expert
A wise sentence or decision of great authority.
A fortune-teller.
- "Madame de l'Hôpital has been quite la fée bienfaisante" said Lauzun, who, like others, had been consulting the oracle. "I am bewildered by my future good fortune. I quite anticipate being married, if it is to bring me all that she predicts."1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter V, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 46
One who communicates a divine command; an angel; a prophet.
- God hath now sent his living oracle / Into the world to teach his final will.1671, John Milton, “The First Book”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 1
(Jewish, historical) The sanctuary, or most holy place in the temple; also, the temple itself.
- And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Kings 6:19
- Siloa's brook, that flow'd / Fast by the oracle of God.1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
A theoretical entity capable of answering some collection of questions.
- Thus, an oracle machine (which enacts an oracle algorithm) would be like an ordinary Turing machine, except that adjoined to its ordinary computational operations would be another operation: ‘Call in the oracle and ask it whether C_q(n) stops; […]1994, Roger Penrose, “Quantum theory and the brain”, in Shadows of the Mind, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 380
A third-party service that provides smart contracts with information from the outside world.
- For example, an oracle may send temperature data reported by the National Weather Service or report the daily LIBOR rate to a smart contract.2020, Daniel T. Stabile, Kimberly A. Prior, Andrew M. Hinkes, “Smart Contracts”, in Digital Assets and Blockchain Technology, Edward Elgar Publishing, →ISBN, page 223

Verb

oracle (third-person singular simple present oracles, present participle oracling, simple past and past participle oracled)

(obsolete) To utter oracles or prophecies.
- But this thy glory shall be soon retrench'd;
  No more shalt thou by oracling abuse
  The Gentiles; henceforth Oracles are ceast1671, John Milton, “The First Book”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC
- Primarily seen as a publicity vehicle for late-year releases, the awards show and its promoters have lately made pretensions to Oscar oracling: Jamie Foxx won the “breakthrough actor of the year” prize for “Ray” in 2004, after all, and Paul Haggis and his ensemble cast were honored for “Crash” four...2006 October 18, David M. Halbfinger, “Hollywood Film Chain’s Latest Link”, in New York Times

Proper noun capitalized: Oracle

Oracle

A database management system (and its associated software) developed by the Oracle Corporation

oracle meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

oracle in Hindi

ओरेकल, ऑरेकल, ओरैकल

oracle in Tamil

வானிலிருந்து ஒலிக்கும் குரல்

oracle in Marathi

ओरॅकल, ऑरेकल, ओरेकल

oracle in Urdu

وحی

More languagesFewer languages

oracle in Bengali: প্রত্যাদেশ, দৈববাণী, আকাশবাণী, দৈববাণীর দেবতা
oracle in Telugu: ఒరాకిల్, ఆరాకిల్, ఒరాకల్
oracle in Malayalam: അരുളപ്പാട്, വെളിപാട്, കോമരം
oracle in Kannada: ಪ್ರಶ್ನಸ್ಥಾನ, ನಿಮಿತ್ತ ಸ್ಥಾನ, ದೇವವಾಣಿ, ದೇವಾವೇಶ
oracle in Punjabi: ਓਰੇਕਲ, ਓਰਾਕਲ, ਓਰੇਕਲਿੰਗ
oracle in Gujarati: ઓરેકલ, ઓરાકલ, ઓરાકલિંગ
oracle in Odia: ଓରାକଲ୍, ଓରେକଲ୍, ଓରାକଲ
oracle in Nepali: ओरेकल, ओराकल, ओर्याकल
oracle in Arabic: كَاهِن kāhin, عَرَّاف ʕarrāf, إِلْهَام ʔilhām

Examples of oracle in a sentence

The oracle saw the destruction of the city.
Helpfulness of self-critiques for synthetic tasks, according to a critique validity oracle.
Always remember the qualities of a student of this oracle, also, which are: You will always 1.

All 29 example sentences with oracle

Synonyms of oracle

10 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of oracle

Forms of oracle

Noun
plural	oracles
Verb
third-person singular present	oracles
present participle	oracling
past participle	oracled
past	oracled

Plural of oracle: oracles

Origin of oracle

From Middle English oracle, from Old French oracle m, from Latin ōrāculum n.

Words formed from oracle

Phrases with oracle

Questions about oracle

What does oracle mean?: Oracle means a shrine dedicated to some prophetic deity.
What is oracle in Hindi?: Oracle in Hindi is ओरेकल, ऑरेकल, ओरैकल. See Oracle meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is oracle?: Oracle can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce oracle?: Oracle is pronounced /ˈɔɹəkəl/.
What is the plural of oracle?: The plural of oracle is oracles.

Words near oracle in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: oracle (page history and authors); Oracle (page history and authors); oracle (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); oracle (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); oracle (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); oracle (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); oracle (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); oracle (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); oracle (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); oracle (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); oracle (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); oracle (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); oracle (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); oracle (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-oracle.ogg.

Cite this entry: “oracle.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/oracle. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.