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
David Leech AndersonExamples of ontological in a Sentence
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The Sullys learned this the hard way in The Way of Water, and this story doesn't shy away from the necessity of an armed revolution when an ontological evil comes knocking.
—Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 19 Dec. 2025
That may go to show how glorious a bit of ontological security can be.
—Faith Hill, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2025
The very purpose of the foundation became a kind of ontological puzzle.
—Alice Gregory, New Yorker, 16 Nov. 2025
The transcendental is, for Schrader, expressible only through contradiction: neither the implausible redemption at the end of First Reformed nor the relentlessly pessimistic two hours preceding it but the very juxtaposition of these incommensurable ontological frames.
—Roy Scranton
august 20, Literary Hub, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ontological
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Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 19 Dec. 2025
That may go to show how glorious a bit of ontological security can be.
—Faith Hill, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2025
The very purpose of the foundation became a kind of ontological puzzle.
—Alice Gregory, New Yorker, 16 Nov. 2025
The transcendental is, for Schrader, expressible only through contradiction: neither the implausible redemption at the end of First Reformed nor the relentlessly pessimistic two hours preceding it but the very juxtaposition of these incommensurable ontological frames.
—Roy Scranton
august 20, Literary Hub, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ontological
Cite this Entry
“Ontological.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ontological. Accessed 24 Dec. 2025.
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