categorical

adjective cat·e·gor·i·cal \ ˌka-tə-ˈgȯr-i-kəl , -ˈgär- \

variants: or less commonly categoric play \-ik\

Updated on: 13 Apr 2018

Definition of categorical

1 : absolute, unqualified

a categorical denial

2 a : of, relating to, or constituting a category

b : involving, according with, or considered with respect to specific categories

a categorical system for classifying books

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categorically

play \-i-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

See categorical defined for English-language learners

See categorical defined for kids

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Examples of categorical in a Sentence

He issued a categorical denial about his involvement in the deal.
a categorical denial of the rumors that the celebrities were planning to get married

Recent Examples of categorical from the Web

The district has yet to receive three of its four annual categorical payments totaling $7.5 million, which cover costs such as transportation, special education and free and reduced-price lunches, Strand said.

— suzanne baker, Naperville Sun, "District 204 budget includes more money from state," 3 Apr. 2018
That could mean that Apple plans to make discovering new books through the Books app easier, possibly with categorical tabs and book cover art throughout the digital store.

— valentina palladino, Ars Technica, "Apple’s iBooks to become “Books” in forthcoming reading app redesign," 25 Jan. 2018
Meanwhile, the latest categorical ban on practically all immigrants and refugees from eight countries — Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen — remains in place, though courts have blocked that as well.

— todd spangler, Detroit Free Press, "A year later: Trump has tried to keep promises and perhaps changed the presidency forever," 2 Nov. 2017
But even this small sampling of Morgan’s possessions frequently bursts its categorical boundaries, and might be analyzed in other ways.

— judith h. dobrzynski, WSJ, "‘Morgan: Mind of the Collector’ Review: A Mogul’s Voracious Appetite for Art," 7 Oct. 2017
But, decades later the Supreme Court imposed the categorical bar in Garcetti, denying any protection if an employee engages in job-duty speech or speaks as an employee instead of as a citizen.

— david l. hudson jr., Slate Magazine, "Anthony Kennedy has the chance to undo his worst anti–First Amendment decision. He should take it.," 4 Aug. 2017
The order does not affect other aspects of Trump's previous travel bans, which include a categorical ban on immigrants and refugees from some Muslim-majority countries.

— gregory korte, USA TODAY, "Trump signs order resuming refugee admissions — but with 'extreme vetting'," 24 Oct. 2017
Quite apart from the categorical amnesty, the most constitutionally offensive thing about DACA is its awarding of positive legal benefits to aliens — in particular, work permits.

— andrew c. mccarthy, National Review, "DACA: Trump Does the Full Obama on Prosecutorial Discretion," 9 Sep. 2017
Also working at Wilmot will be Eileen Deignan and Emily Lacost, cross categorical resource teachers.

— steve sadin, chicagotribune.com, "26 new teachers, staff members starting in District 109," 14 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'categorical.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

The ancestor of categorical and category has been important in logic and philosophy since the days of Aristotle. Both English words derive from Greek katēgoria, which Aristotle used to name the 10 fundamental classes (also called "predications" or "assertions") of terms, things, or ideas into which he felt human knowledge could be organized. Ironically, although those categories and things categorical are supposed to be absolute and fundamental, philosophers have long argued about the number and type of categories that exist and their role in understanding the world. High-level philosophical disputes aside, the word categorical continues to refer to an absolute assertion, one that involves no conditions or hypotheses (for example, the statement "all humans are mortal").