ORACLE

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does oracle mean? 

• ORACLE (noun)
  The noun ORACLE has 3 senses:

1. an authoritative person who divines the future

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

3. a shrine where an oracular god is consulted

  Familiarity information: ORACLE used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ORACLE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An authoritative person who divines the future

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

oracle; prophesier; prophet; seer; vaticinator

Hypernyms ("oracle" is a kind of...):

diviner (someone who claims to discover hidden knowledge with the aid of supernatural powers)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "oracle"):

augur; auspex ((ancient Rome) a religious official who interpreted omens to guide public policy)

prophetess (a woman prophet)

sibyl ((ancient Rome) a woman who was regarded as an oracle or prophet)

Derivation:

oracular (resembling an oracle in obscurity of thought)

Sense 2

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("oracle" is a kind of...):

divination; prophecy (a prediction uttered under divine inspiration)

Derivation:

oracular (of or relating to an oracle)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A shrine where an oracular god is consulted

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("oracle" is a kind of...):

shrine (a place of worship hallowed by association with some sacred thing or person)

Instance hyponyms:

Delphic oracle; Oracle of Apollo; oracle of Delphi; Temple of Apollo ((Greek mythology) the oracle at Delphi where a priestess supposedly delivered messages from Apollo to those who sought advice; the messages were usually obscure or ambiguous)

 Context examples 

He called it his oracle, and said, it pointed out the time for every action of his life.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

But Miss Clarissa giving me a look (just like a sharp canary), as requesting that I would not interrupt the oracle, I begged pardon.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

It was at all times pleasant to listen while from his lips fell the words of the Bible: never did his fine voice sound at once so sweet and full—never did his manner become so impressive in its noble simplicity, as when he delivered the oracles of God: and to-night that voice took a more solemn tone—that manner a more thrilling meaning—as he sat in the midst of his household circle (the May moon shining in through the uncurtained window, and rendering almost unnecessary the light of the candle on the table): as he sat there, bending over the great old Bible, and described from its page the vision of the new heaven and the new earth—told how God would come to dwell with men, how He would wipe away all tears from their eyes, and promised that there should be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, nor any more pain, because the former things were passed away.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Fanny was her oracle.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

By all which acquirements, I should be a living treasure of knowledge and wisdom, and certainly become the oracle of the nation.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)