Oracle
noun /ˈɒrəkəl/ — A voice of prophecy — or a person whose pronouncements are treated as such.
Definition
A priest or priestess acting as a medium through whom gods spoke; a person consulted as an authoritative source; any infallible or wise answer.
Beyond the definition
The Oracle at Delphi told Oedipus his fate; told the Athenians to trust their wooden walls; told Croesus that if he attacked Persia, a great empire would be destroyed. It was, of course, his own. Oracles are always right — and always misread. Today the word also names the person everyone turns to as though they have answers they couldn't have: the analyst, the mentor, the guru.
Origin & history
From Latin oraculum 'divine announcement, oracle', from orare 'to pray, speak'. The most famous oracle was the Pythia at Delphi, who inhaled vapours rising from a chasm and delivered cryptic prophecies.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
She had become the oracle of her friend group — everyone's first call when a decision felt too heavy.
The Delphic oracle's most famous instruction was 'Know thyself' — advice attributed to Apollo via the Pythia.
He spoke in pronouncements, as though his opinion were an oracle rather than a preference.
How to use it
This entry uses a noun. Follow the examples for articles and singular or plural forms; not every noun takes “a” or “an.”
Choose “Oracle” when the meaning fits your context: A priest or priestess acting as a medium through whom gods spoke; a person consulted as an authoritative source; any infallible or wise answer.
Synonyms
prophet, seer, sage, soothsayer, authority
Antonyms
agnostic, layperson
Related words
Word in the Wild
Illustrative story: an imagined scene, not a documented event or interview.
She had been the person people came to with hard questions for so long that she had forgotten it was unusual. Friends called before important decisions. Colleagues asked what she thought about things she had no technical expertise in.
She wasn't always right. She was something harder to define: she asked the question underneath the question. The one people had been circling.
"I don't know the answer," she would say, often. "But I think the question you're asking might be the wrong one." This was, the people who knew her said, usually the whole answer.
Questions about this word
What does "Oracle" mean?
Oracle is noun meaning: A voice of prophecy — or a person whose pronouncements are treated as such.. A priest or priestess acting as a medium through whom gods spoke; a person consulted as an authoritative source; any infallible or wise answer.
Where does the word "Oracle" come from?
From Latin oraculum 'divine announcement, oracle', from orare 'to pray, speak'. The most famous oracle was the Pythia at Delphi, who inhaled vapours rising from a chasm and delivered cryptic prophecies.