ontology
noun
on·tol·o·gy
än-ˈtä-lə-jē 
1
: a branch of metaphysics concerned with the nature and relations of being
Ontology deals with abstract entities.
2
: a particular theory about the nature of being or the kinds of things that have existence
Examples of ontology in a Sentence
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Hegel was often frustrated by those unable to grasp his wide range of ruminations, from metaphysical issues in epistemology and ontology to political philosophy to the philosophy of art and religion.
—
Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Mar. 2026
Gordian was engineered for nuclear-grade technical work and is equipped with physics and engineering tools, as well as the ability to understand and integrate data through semantic ontology mapping, to ensure that the final output is computed and verified, not inferred, according to the DOE.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 29 Mar. 2026
When gene ontology analysis was performed on the regions of the village dog genome that were enriched for wolf ancestral elements, the only significant functional category was the olfactory transduction pathway.
—Ritsuko Kawai, Wired News, 25 Dec. 2025
Bleeding Edge thus marks Pynchon’s most overt confrontation with the collapse of ontology into information.
—Literary Hub, 10 Dec. 2025
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Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Mar. 2026
Gordian was engineered for nuclear-grade technical work and is equipped with physics and engineering tools, as well as the ability to understand and integrate data through semantic ontology mapping, to ensure that the final output is computed and verified, not inferred, according to the DOE.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 29 Mar. 2026
When gene ontology analysis was performed on the regions of the village dog genome that were enriched for wolf ancestral elements, the only significant functional category was the olfactory transduction pathway.
—Ritsuko Kawai, Wired News, 25 Dec. 2025
Bleeding Edge thus marks Pynchon’s most overt confrontation with the collapse of ontology into information.
—Literary Hub, 10 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ontology
Cite this Entry
“Ontology.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ontology. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
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