categorical

[ kat-i-gawr-i-kuhl, -gor- ]
See synonyms for: categoricalcategorically on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. without exceptions or conditions; absolute; unqualified and unconditional: a categorical denial.

  2. Logic.

    • (of a proposition) analyzable into a subject and an attribute related by a copula, as in the proposition “All humans are mortal.”

    • (of a syllogism) having categorical propositions as premises.

  1. of, relating to, or in a category.

Origin of categorical

1
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Late Latin catēgoric(us) (from Greek katēgorikós; see category, -ic) + -al1
  • Also cat·e·gor·ic [kat-i-gawr-ik, -gor-] /ˌkæt ɪˈgɔr ɪk, -ˈgɒr-/ .

Other words for categorical

Other words from categorical

  • cat·e·gor·i·cal·ly, adverb
  • cat·e·gor·i·cal·ness, noun
  • non·cat·e·gor·i·cal, adjective
  • non·cat·e·gor·i·cal·ness, noun
  • un·cat·e·gor·i·cal, adjective
  • un·cat·e·gor·i·cal·ness, noun

Words Nearby categorical

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use categorical in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for categorical

categorical

categoric

/ (ˌkætɪˈɡɒrɪkəl) /


adjective
  1. unqualified; positive; unconditional: a categorical statement

  2. relating to or included in a category

  1. logic another word for categorial

Derived forms of categorical

  • categorically, adverb
  • categoricalness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012