IDEATIONAL Synonyms: 56 Similar and Opposite Words

ideational

adjective

ˌī-dē-ˈā-sh(ə-)nəl

Definition of ideational

as in theoretical

dealing with or expressing a quality or idea ideograms are ideational—they are meant to suggest some general idea and not a particular word or phrase

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Recent Examples of ideational The pact was a disaster for the Popular Front, but the severing of the ideational link between Communism and antifascism probably helped the antifascist cause at home. — Beverly Gage, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026 Constructivists’ major argument is that world politics is as much ideational as material and that relations among states depend on norms as much as on military or economic power. — Stacie E. Goddard, Foreign Affairs, 31 Oct. 2025 These ideational shifts, influenced by both global narratives and local aspirations, are increasingly shaping how Indians approach relationships. — Anuradha Gupta, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025 The ideational content of the image — a man killing another man on a public sidewalk — is only half the message. — F.k. Plous, Chicago Tribune, 8 Jan. 2025 This process, which Doten-Snitker and her coauthors term ideational diffusion, often took many years as people in towns and cities needed time to digest new ideas about witchcraft and turn them into behavior. — Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2024 Steven Spielberg extends Griffith’s and Ford’s historical insight through an astonishing mix of visual and ideational dialectics. — Armond White, National Review, 28 June 2023

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ideational

Adjective

The new Anthropic models also reportedly solved two theoretical physics problems related to black holes, and identified a way to speed up research into gene therapies.

— Emily Forlini, Fortune, 9 Nov. 2026
That dream was recently proved false, however, when a group of theoretical physicists found that no light-bending material can ever be fully transparent, owing to a quantum process that turns waves of light into waves of sound.

— Matthew von Hippel, Scientific American, 7 Nov. 2026

Definition of theoretical

Adjective

In both films, everything comes in threes, the incessant crosscutting is accorded a flashy metaphysical weight, and time itself is manipulated, distorted, and rearranged to the point of meaninglessness.

— Justin Chang, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2026
Conference-goers are here to sample and peruse the shifting practices of the nation’s market for metaphysical beliefs.

— Sam Kestenbaum, Harpers Magazine, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of metaphysical

Adjective

The only way to fully understand the key mechanisms of democracy is through learning their conceptual mathematical foundations.

— Ismar Volić, Washington Post, 8 Nov. 2026
Firstman had handed him Eric Goode’s book on Area, the legendary 1980s Tribeca club where a corner might display a cheeky conceptual piece by Andy Warhol or a nude model dressed to look like a statue.

— Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 5 Nov. 2026

Definition of conceptual

Adjective

Together, the researchers turned those abstract mathematical rules into tangible, physical matter.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 12 Nov. 2026
Florentine sells an affordable designer butter knife ($35) engraved with an abstract illustration by Oded Webman, which transforms a mundane kitchen utensil into a small work of art.

— Nicholas Blechman, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2026

Definition of abstract

Adjective

If the map of New York City would be the map of a cell… all mental diseases are all around Times Square.

— Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 12 Nov. 2026
Those who are attacked are forever changed — many go on to suffer mental and emotional hardships.

— John Chiarello, New York Daily News, 12 Nov. 2026

Definition of mental

Adjective

Alexandria was a cultural and intellectual hub for a millennium until a torrent of earthquakes and tsunamis pulled its coast underwater.

— Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 12 Nov. 2026
But the more serious parts of this big business-government-intellectual coalition got to work finding other emergencies to justify not only continuing that kind of wartime federal control, but accelerating it.

— Connor Okeeffe, Oc Register, 11 Nov. 2026

Definition of intellectual

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ideation

ideational

idée fixe

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“Ideational.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ideational. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of ideational

adjective

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