tautological

adjective

tau·​to·​log·​i·​cal ˌtȯ-tə-ˈlä-ji-kəl How to pronounce tautological (audio)
1
: involving or containing rhetorical tautology : redundant
2
: true by virtue of its logical form alone
tautologically adverb

Examples of tautological in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The concept has become a bit vague and tautological. WIRED, 13 Nov. 2023 Is there a tautological aspect to this? Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 14 July 2021 Is there another tautological issue there? Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 14 July 2021 This might seem tautological, but there’s a point. Jake Bittle, The New Republic, 26 Mar. 2021 Entitlement, too, is tautological. Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 29 Oct. 2020 You folks read astronomy stuff (that's tautological), so there must be tons of people reading this who would know. Phil Plait, Discover Magazine, 5 Apr. 2012 The nature of the chart is now almost tautological. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 21 Apr. 2011 Attempting to define this unique, curvilinear object is a tautological exercise. Liz Raiss, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tautological.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1620, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of tautological was in 1620

Dictionary Entries Near tautological

Cite this Entry

“Tautological.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tautological. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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