metaphysical

[met-uh-fiz-i-kuhl]

adjective

1. pertaining to or of the nature of metaphysics.

2. Philosophy.

   1. concerned with abstract thought or subjects, as existence, causality, or truth.

   2. concerned with first principles and ultimate grounds, as being, time, or substance.

3. highly abstract, subtle, or abstruse.

4. designating or pertaining to the poetry of an early group of 17th-century English poets, notably John Donne, whose characteristic style is highly intellectual and philosophical and features intensive use of ingenious conceits and turns of wit.

5. Archaic.,  imaginary or fanciful.

metaphysical

¹

/ ˌmɛtəˈfɪzɪkəl /

adjective

1. relating to or concerned with metaphysics

2. (of a statement or theory) having the form of an empirical hypothesis, but in fact immune from empirical testing and therefore (in the view of the logical positivists) literally meaningless

3. (popularly) abstract, abstruse, or unduly theoretical

4. incorporeal; supernatural

Metaphysical

²

/ ˌmɛtəˈfɪzɪkəl /

adjective

1. denoting or relating to certain 17th-century poets who combined intense feeling with ingenious thought and often used elaborate imagery and conceits. Notable among them were Donne, Herbert, and Marvell

noun

1. a poet of this group

Other Word Forms

• metaphysically adverb
• antimetaphysical adjective
• antimetaphysically adverb
• hypermetaphysical adjective
• nonmetaphysical adjective
• nonmetaphysically adverb
• quasi-metaphysical adjective
• quasi-metaphysically adverb
• unmetaphysical adjective
• unmetaphysically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of metaphysical¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English metaphisicalle, from Medieval Latin metaphysicālis; equivalent to metaphysic + -al ¹

Example Sentences

She must navigate the idiocy of her high school peers while solving a metaphysical murder mystery.

From Los Angeles Times

To wit, the ideation behind the “Cosmic Selector” — a mysterious, maybe metaphysical jukebox where the punch of a button might bring about alternative life trajectories.

From Los Angeles Times

“I was trying to establish a metaphysical dialogue through the words he had written and edited himself in the book,” Cruz Guerrero says.

From Los Angeles Times

“Furlough’s Paradise” is a small play that expands outward to the social and metaphysical worlds, not unlike McCraney’s “The Brothers Size,” a palpable influence.

From Los Angeles Times

Beckett reminds us of the metaphysical vastness that the stage can contain.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• abstract 
• abstruse 
• esoteric 
• mystical 
• philosophical 
• spiritual 
• supernatural 
• theoretical