as in repetition
a statement in which you repeat a word, idea, etc., in a way that is not necessary
"A beginner who has just started" is a tautology.
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Recent Examples of tautology
That tautology, in the age of Trump, is now a matter of judicial precedent.
—
Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 29 Apr. 2025
Saying ‘Hungary is for Hungarians’ or ‘America is for Americans’ is a tautology.
—Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
Sadaf spouts a tautology — faith as faith — that also holds for patriotism.
—Armond White, National Review, 22 Jan. 2025
Yes, a win is a win, but tautologies aside, for the Niners, a win with Purdy playing like one of the finest quarterbacks in the NFL on Sunday would speak volumes.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2024
The goal was to market something in every category, which led to the occasional tautology.
—Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 22 Aug. 2024
Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 29 Apr. 2025
Saying ‘Hungary is for Hungarians’ or ‘America is for Americans’ is a tautology.
—Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
Sadaf spouts a tautology — faith as faith — that also holds for patriotism.
—Armond White, National Review, 22 Jan. 2025
Yes, a win is a win, but tautologies aside, for the Niners, a win with Purdy playing like one of the finest quarterbacks in the NFL on Sunday would speak volumes.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2024
The goal was to market something in every category, which led to the occasional tautology.
—Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 22 Aug. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tautology
Noun
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Over time, increase the repetitions using light weights, then gradually progress to heavier loads, Forsyth recommended.—
Allison Forsyth,
Health,
14 Jan. 2026
-
Some apps, like Duolingo, use spaced repetition, but don’t always provide authentic cultural context, which is important for learning intuitively, said Sauer.—
The New York Times News Service Syndicate,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Remaining on stage with gracious verbalism, Batiste first acknowledged the nominees.—
Allison Hazel,
Essence,
9 June 2021
Noun
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The repetitiveness of the plot is not helped by the many montages writer-director Yandy Laurens uses as shortcuts, instead of writing scenes that show how the central relationship is developing.—
Murtada Elfadl,
Variety,
15 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
The process itself was developed by Radici InNova, the Italian firm’s research and innovation arm centered around circularity, based on selective dissolution technology.—
Alexandra Harrell,
Sourcing Journal,
5 Jan. 2026
-
The interconnected nature of the deals, though, reflects the circularity that has defined the AI boom’s financing, spurring fears of a bubble that has already fueled steep stock-price slides from CoreWeave and Oracle.—
Alexander Onukwue,
semafor.com,
19 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
The conversation moved into unsexy hyperbole very quickly.—
Amogh Dimri,
The Atlantic,
2 Jan. 2026
-
Never one to miss a hyperbole, Sandy compares it to the soccer World Cup.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
9 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Safety through advanced technology Safety remains the primary concern for any personal aircraft, and Plaut addresses this through extreme hardware redundancy.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Jan. 2026
-
The key to packing light is zero redundancy, so having a wallet that fit my passport and could double as a cross-body bag was perfect.—
Maggie Slepian,
Travel + Leisure,
10 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tautology.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tautology. Accessed 21 Jan. 2026.
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