causality
Americannoun
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causalities
plural
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the relation of cause and effect.
The result is the same, however differently the causality is interpreted.
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causal quality or agency.
noun
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the relationship of cause and effect
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the principle that nothing can happen without being caused
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causal agency or quality
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of causality
Explanation
Causality is the connection between a cause and its result or consequence. It is sometimes hard to figure out the causality of a stomach ache — it could be due to something you ate, or just a result of stress. You'll often find the word causality in scholarly or academic writing. Medical researchers might talk about the causality of various diseases, and a sociologist might study the causality of a childhood in poverty on future trouble in school. This noun comes from the adjective causal, "acting as a cause," from a Latin root, causa, or "cause."
Vocabulary lists containing causality
"Simon's Saga," Vocabulary from Episode 32
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Cosmos
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The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl
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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.
See Examples For:
There is some indication that exercise may help stave off dementia, although causality is unproven.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Scientific research has not identified causality between taking the painkiller and the development of those conditions in children.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
"While it's an association and not proof of causality, it does raise an important clinical question that now deserves much more attention."
From Science Daily ● Jun. 10, 2026
Now, “the arrow of causality has flipped” on the view that “AI is killing the jobs first, and that’s what’s making the economy sick.”
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 27, 2026
Some scientists think that when expansion is followed by contraction, when the spectra of distant galaxies are all blue-shifted, causality will be inverted and effects will precede causes.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Military authorities who rarely report any causalities among their ranks regularly claim victories in their anti-jihadist fight.
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2025
Earlier it said causalities could be “figures of non-Syrian nationalities.”
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 10, 2024
From the outside, the three most obvious potential cap causalities are wide receiver Keenan Allen, left guard Matt Feiler and tight end Gerald Everett.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2023
Gusev’s press service did not refute reports of mass causalities, and a local news outlet deleted a report that had called the information fake.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 7, 2022
Our command had no causalities that day, but many Federals were buried in trenches in our front, their total loss officially reported in the assault was 2,500.
From A History of Lumsden's Battery, C.S.A. by James Robert Maxwell
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.
