categorical
Americanadjective
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without exceptions or conditions; absolute; unqualified and unconditional.
a categorical denial.
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Logic.
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(of a proposition) analyzable into a subject and an attribute related by a copula, as in the proposition “All humans are mortal.”
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(of a syllogism) having categorical propositions as premises.
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of, relating to, or in a category.
adjective
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unqualified; positive; unconditional
a categorical statement
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relating to or included in a category
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logic another word for categorial
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of categorical
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Late Latin catēgoric(us) (from Greek katēgorikós; see category, -ic) + -al 1
Explanation
If someone accuses you of stealing their lunch and you give a categorical denial, it means that you absolutely deny having anything to do with the theft. Categorical means absolute, unqualified, unconditional. If you ask someone to marry you and she says maybe, you might be able to persuade her. If it's no, you might still have a chance. But if she gives you a categorical no, she will never change her mind. Less often, categorical is used to describe something that is part of a certain category or group. A Doberman at the Westminster Dog Show might be the categorical winner, meaning it is the best Doberman but not the winner of the show.
Vocabulary lists containing categorical
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Break It Down: Cata
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Categorical clemency grants framed only in terms of qualifying criteria require would-be beneficiaries to come forward and prove that they qualify.
From Slate • Jul. 18, 2025
Categorical propositions of the sort Aristotle was considering are normal in day-to-day reasoning.
From Salon • Jul. 29, 2024
Categorical imperative Kant’s concept of moral reasoning and action.
From Textbooks • Jun. 15, 2022
Decoding Topology Terilla and Bradley also collaborated with mathematician and data scientist Tyler Bryson on the textbook, Topology: A Categorical Approach.
From Scientific American • Apr. 26, 2021
By thus reducing the Hypothetical Syllogism to the Categorical form, what is lost in elegance is gained in intelligibility.
From Logic Deductive and Inductive by Read, Carveth
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
