What does predicatory mean?
Predicatory is a formal grammatical adjective meaning that an expression functions as, or relates to, a predicate. Its most familiar application is to predicative adjectives: words such as “asleep,” “awake,” “alive,” and “alone” that follow a linking verb and describe the subject rather than modifying a noun directly. In “The child is asleep,” for example, “asleep” is predicative because it predicates a condition of the child. The term also distinguishes this grammatical role from attributive use, in which an adjective directly modifies a noun. Predicatory is relatively uncommon in ordinary discussion, but it is useful in grammar, linguistics, and language teaching because it identifies the structural relationship between an expression and its subject. In this specialized sense, it does not merely mean emphatic or assertive, despite sharing an origin with those words.
adjectiveOf or relating to a predicate; serving as the predicate. In grammar, it describes an expression, especially an adjective, that identifies or describes the subject after a linking verb.
- Of or relating to a grammatical predicate, especially an adjective or other expression describing the subject after a linking verb.
"In grammatical analysis, “asleep” is a predicatory adjective describing the subject."
"In grammatical analysis, “asleep” is a predicatory adjective describing the subject."
"The teacher asked whether “with his eyes closed” was predicatory or attributive in that sentence."
A predicative adjective can paint a picture in a single linking phrase: “The room fell silent.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does predicatory come from?
Predicatory comes through Latin praedicativus, meaning “assertive” or “expressive,” from praedicare, “to assert, declare, or proclaim.” English borrowed the Latin adjective and developed the modern grammatical sense through the related word predicate. The same Latin root underlies predicate, predication, prediction, and preface.
Related word forms
How predicatory is actually used
Chiefly a grammatical term and formal in register. “Predicative” is generally more common when referring to an adjective that functions as a predicate.
Easily confused with predicatory
A predicate is the grammatical expression that says something about a subject, whereas predicatory is an adjective describing that function or an expression that performs it.
Predicatory concerns the grammatical function of an expression, while predictive concerns indicating or forecasting an outcome.