ontological

adjective

on·​to·​log·​i·​cal ˌän-tə-ˈlä-ji-kəl 

1

: of or relating to ontology

an ontological principle

2

: relating to or based upon being or existence

Virtual environments engage millions of people and billions of dollars each year. What is the ontological status of the virtual objects that populate those environments?

—David Leech Anderson

ontologically

ˌän-tə-ˈlä-ji-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Examples of ontological in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The problem with this approach is that, in a narrative and perhaps ontological sense, cables don’t do anything. —Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 19 May 2025

While cancellation options are available in advance of the other three periods—broadly speaking, advertisers may back out of between 25% and 50% of their Q1, Q2 and Q3 upfront allocations—the ontological status of fall buys is a lot less equivocal. —Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 25 Apr. 2025

This always leads to a meaningful exploration of whatever spiritual (or non-spiritual) ontological paradigm a person embraces. 5. —Laurel Donnellan, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025

Nontraditional techniques of ontological classification can reduce the size of the LLMs and, subsequently, the computational resources needed for training and operation. —Tj Dunham, Forbes.com, 27 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1705, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing ontological

• ontological argument

Rhymes for ontological

• analogical
• astrological
• biological
• christological
• chronological
• cosmological
• cytological
• dialogical
• ecological
• ethnological
• ethological
• geological