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oracle

noun

Simple meaning

A prophecy revealed by a priest or priestess.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

awruhkuhl

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɔɹəkəl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A prophecy (usually obscure or allegorical) revealed by a priest or priestess; believed to be infallible

  2. A person such as a priest through whom the deity is supposed to respond with prophecy or advice.

  3. A prophetic response, often enigmatic or allegorical, so given.

  4. A person considered to be a source of wisdom.

  5. One who communicates a divine command; an angel; a prophet.

  6. A shrine dedicated to some prophetic deity.

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A prophecy (usually obscure or allegorical) revealed by a priest or priestess; believed to be infallible

Used this way, oracle is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use oracle

  • “My grandmother was like an oracle, always knowing exactly what to say to guide us.”noun

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.