categorical
adjective
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The ancestor of categorical and category has been important in logic and philosophy since the days of Aristotle. Both English words come from the Greek word katēgoria, which Aristotle used to name the ten 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 the role they play in our understanding of the world. High-level philosophical disputes aside, the word categorical continues to sometimes describe an absolute assertion, one that involves no conditions or hypotheses—for example, the statement "hot dogs are sandwiches all humans are mortal."
Examples of categorical in a Sentence
Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025
Districts have seen reimbursements for non-negotiable mandated categorical (MCAT) costs erode.
—Chicago Tribune, 28 May 2025
Quantum computing will allow health researchers to forgo the traditional categorical mindset and model complex pathways instead of fitting patients into neat buckets.
—Dr. Tal Patalon, Md, Llb, Forbes, 15 Mar. 2025
There will be those who view Arsenal’s decision not to enter the market before Monday night’s deadline as a categorical failure, but January (and in this case, the start of February) is never an easy time for clubs to go shopping, and buying for the sake of it is a mistake many teams fall into.
—Sam Lee, The Athletic, 5 Feb. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Categorical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/categorical. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
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categorical
adjective
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