axiomatic
Americanadjective
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relating to or resembling an axiom; self-evident
-
containing maxims; aphoristic
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(of a logical system) consisting of a set of axioms from which theorems are derived by transformation rules Compare natural deduction
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of axiomatic
First recorded in 1790–1800; from Greek axiōmatikós, equivalent to axiōmat- (stem of axíōma axiom ) + -ikos -ic
Explanation
An axiom is a self-evident truth. The authors of the Declaration of Independence could have written, “We hold these truths to be axiomatic,” but it wouldn't have the same ring. The root word of axiomatic, axiom, derives from the Greek axioma, meaning "authority," or "that which is thought worthy or fit." We use it to describe statements that have the authority of truth about them, or that seem worthy of the truth, or fit to be described as such. That is, an axiom is a proposition that we don’t generally question because it seems plain enough that it’s true. And axiomatic means evident without proof or argument.
Vocabulary lists containing axiomatic
Brave New World
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On Liberty
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Challenge, List 10
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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.
If it’s axiomatic that war never goes the way belligerents expect it to, the last great battle in the Revolution is the exception that proves the rule.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
If you look at what freedom means, it seems pretty axiomatic to think, Freedom means not being put in jail.
From Slate ● Feb. 17, 2026
IIT starts out by formulating five axiomatic properties of any conceivable subjective experience.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 8, 2023
It's axiomatic that you cannot win if you do not play the game.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2023
Even the 2,500-year-old Greek idea of an axiomatic geometry—a few self-evident axioms being assumed, and from them the theorems being derived by logic alone—is not being effectively taught in secondary school.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
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.
