Word Study
oracular
CIDE DICTIONARY
oracular, a. [L. oracularius. See Oracle.].
- Of or pertaining to an oracle; uttering oracles; forecasting the future; as, an oracular tongue. [1913 Webster]
- Resembling an oracle in some way, as in solemnity, wisdom, authority, obscurity, ambiguity, dogmatism. [1913 Webster]"They have something venerable and oracular in that unadorned gravity and shortness in the expression." [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
oracular, adj.
1 of or concerning an oracle or oracles.
2 (esp. of advice etc.) mysterious or ambiguous.
3 prophetic.
1 of or concerning an oracle or oracles.
2 (esp. of advice etc.) mysterious or ambiguous.
3 prophetic.
Derivative
oracularity n. oracularly adv.
Etymology
L (as ORACLE)
THESAURUS
oracular
apocalyptic, augural, auguring, bigoted, conceited, divinatory, doctrinaire, doctrinarian, dogmatic, dogmatizing, fatidic, forecasting, foreseeing, foretelling, forewarning, fortunetelling, haruspical, mantic, opinionated, opinionative, opinioned, peremptory, pontifical, positive, positivistic, predictional, predictive, predictory, prefigurative, prefiguring, presageful, presaging, presignificative, presignifying, prognostic, prognosticative, pronunciative, prophetic, self-opinionated, self-opinioned, sibyllic, sibylline, vaticinal, vaticinatory, weather-wiseROGET THESAURUS
oracular
Uncertainty
N uncertainty, incertitude, doubt, doubtfulness, dubiety, dubitation, dubitancy, dubitousness, hesitation, suspense, perplexity, embarrassment, dilemma, bewilderment, timidity, vacillation, diaporesis, indetermination, vagueness, haze, fog, obscurity, ambiguity, contingency, dependence, dependency, double contingency, possibility upon a possibility, open question, onus probandi, blind bargain, pig in a poke, leap in the dark, something or other, needle in a haystack, needle in a bottle of hay, roving commission, precariousness, fallibility, uncertain, casual, random, changeable, doubtful, dubious, indecisive, unsettled, undecided, undetermined, in suspense, open to discussion, controvertible, in question, vague, indeterminate, indefinite, ambiguous, equivocal, undefined, undefinable, confused, mystic, oracular, dazed, perplexing, enigmatic, paradoxical, apocryphal, problematical, hypothetical, experimental, unpredictable, unforeseeable (unknowable), fallible, questionable, precarious, slippery, ticklish, debatable, disputable, unreliable, untrustworthy, contingent, contingent on, dependent on, subject to, dependent on circumstances, occasional, provisional, unauthentic, unauthenticated, unauthoritative, unascertained, unconfirmed, undemonstrated, untold, uncounted, in a state of uncertainty, in a cloud, in a maze, bushed, off the track, ignorant, afraid to say, out of one's reckoning, astray, adrift, at sea, at fault, at a loss, at one's wit's end, at a nonplus, puzzled, lost, abroad, d_esorient_e, distracted, distraught, pendente lite, sub spe rati, Heaven knows, who can tell? who shall decide when doctors disagr.Wisdom
N intelligence, wisdom, intelligence, capacity, comprehension, understanding, cuteness, sabe, savvy, intellect, nous, parts, sagacity, mother wit, wit, esprit, gumption, quick parts, grasp of intellect, acuteness, acumen, subtlety, penetration, perspicacy, perspicacity, discernment, due sense of, good judgment, discrimination, cunning, refinement, head, brains, headpiece, upper story, long head, eagle eye, eagle- glance, eye of a lynx, eye of a hawk, wisdom, sapience, sense, good sense, common sense, horse sense, plain sense, rationality, reason, reasonableness, judgment, solidity, depth, profundity, caliber, enlarged views, reach of thought, compass of thought, enlargement of mind, genius, inspiration, geist, fire of genius, heaven-born genius, soul, talent, prudence, vigilance, tact, foresight, sobriety, self-possession, aplomb, ballast, a bright thought, not a bad idea, Solomon-like wisdom, intelligent, quick of apprehension, keen, acute, alive, brainy, awake, bright, quick, sharp, quick witted, keen witted, clear witted, sharp-eyed, sharp sighted, sharp witted, wide- awake, canny, shrewd, astute, clear-headed, farsighted, discerning, perspicacious, penetrating, piercing, argute, quick-witted, nimble-witted, needle-witted, sharp as a needle, sharp as a tack, alive to, clever, arch, pas si bete, acute, wise, sage, sapient, sagacious, reasonable, rational, sound, in one's right mind, sensible, abnormis sapiens, judicious, strong- minded, unprejudiced, unbiased, unbigoted, unprepossessed, undazzled, unperplexed, unwarped judgment, impartial, equitable, fair, cool, cool-headed, long-headed, hardheaded, strong-headed, long- sighted, calculating, thoughtful, reflecting, solid, deep, profound, oracular, heaven-directed, heaven-born, prudent, sober, stand, solid, considerate, politic, wise in one's generation, watchful, provident, in advance of one' age, wise as a serpent, wise as Solomon, wise as Solon, wise, sensible, reasonable, judicious, well- thought-out, well-planned, well-judged, well-advised, prudent, politic, expedient, aut regem aut fatuum nasci oportet, but with the morning cool reflection came, flosculi sententiarum, les affaires font les hommes, mas vale saber que haber, mas vale ser necio que profiadol nemo solus sapit, nosce te, gnothi seauton, nullum magnum ingenium sine mixtura dementiae fuit, sapere aude, victrix fortunae sapientia.Prediction
N prediction, announcement, program, programme, premonition, prognosis, prophecy, vaticination, mantology, prognostication, premonstration, augury, auguration, ariolation, hariolation, foreboding, aboding, bodement, abodement, omniation, omniousness, auspices, forecast, omen, horoscope, nativity, sooth, soothsaying, fortune telling, crystal gazing, divination, necromancy, astrology, horoscopy, judicial astrology, adytum prefiguration, prefigurement, prototype, type, oracle, predicting, predictive, prophetic, fatidic, fatidical, vaticinal, oracular, fatiloquent, haruspical, Sibylline, weatherwise, ominous, portentous, augurous, augurial, augural, auspicial, auspicious, prescious, monitory, extispicious, premonitory, significant of, pregnant with, bit with the fate of, coming events cast their shadows before, dicamus bona verba, there buds the promise of celestial worth, by oracles, Theomancy, by the Bible, Bibliomancy, by ghosts, Psychomancy, by crystal gazing, Crystallomancy, by shadows or manes, Sciomancy, by appearances in the air, Aeromancy, Chaomancy, by the stars at birth, Genethliacs, by meteors, Meteoromancy, by winds, Austromancy, by sacrificial appearances, Aruspicy, Haruspicy, Hieromancy, Hieroscopy, by the entrails of animals sacrificed, Extispicy, Hieromancy, by the entrails of a human sacrifice, Anthropomancy, by the entrails of fishes, Ichthyomancy, by sacrificial fire, Pyromancy, by red-hot iron, Sideromancy, by smoke from the altar, Capnomancy, by mice, Myomancy, by birds, Orniscopy, Ornithomancy, by a cock picking up grains, Alectryomancy, Alectromancy, by fishes, Ophiomancy, by herbs, Botanomancy, by water, Hydromancy, by fountains, Pegomancy, by a wand, Rhabdomancy, by dough of cakes, Crithomancy, by meal, Aleuromancy, Alphitomancy, by salt, Halomancy, by dice, Cleromancy, by arrows, Belomancy, by a balanced hatchet, Axinomancy, by a balanced sieve, Coscinomancy, by a suspended ring, Dactyliomancy, by dots made at random on paper, Geomancy, by precious stones, Lithomancy, by pebbles, Pessomancy, by pebbles drawn from a heap, Psephomancy, by mirrors, Catoptromancy, by writings in ashes, Tephramancy, by dreams, Oneiromancy, by the hand, Palmistry, Chiromancy, by nails reflecting the sun's rays, Onychomancy, by finger rings, Dactylomancy, by numbers, Arithmancy, by drawing lots, Sortilege, by passages in books, Stichomancy, by the letters forming the name of the person, Onomancy, Nomancy, by the features, Anthroposcopy, by the mode of laughing, Geloscopy, by ventriloquism, Gastromancy, by walking in a circle, Gyromancy, by dropping melted wax into water, Ceromancy, by currents, Bletonism, by the color and peculiarities of wine, Oenomancy.For further exploring for "oracular" in Webster Dictionary Online