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epistemological

American  
[ih-pis-tuh-muh-loj-i-kuhl] / ɪˌpɪs tə məˈlɒdʒ ɪ kəl /

adjective

  1. pertaining to epistemology, a branch of philosophy that investigates the origin, nature, methods, and limits of human knowledge.


epistemological British  
/ ɪˌpɪstɪməˈlɒdʒɪkəl /

adjective

  1. concerned with or arising from epistemology

  2. (of a philosophical problem) requiring an account of how knowledge of the given subject could be obtained

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of epistemological

epistemolog(y) + -ical

Explanation

An epistemological argument is a philosophical discussion about the nature of knowledge and how you know what you know. The Greek word for "knowledge" is episteme, and epistemology is the branch of philosophy that considers how you know things — how, for instance, your senses determine what you can know about the world around you. It is an epistemological view that where truth and belief intersect, one finds knowledge. Now that's deep.

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Vocabulary lists containing epistemological

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.

It made him an epistemological rival of Kirk’s.

From Slate • Sep. 16, 2025

In doing so, the group has introduced a new tool, the "dahliagram," to enable researchers to analyze and visualize a wide array of quantitative and qualitative knowledge from diverse disciplinary sources and epistemological backgrounds.

From Science Daily • Nov. 22, 2023

The epistemological and ontological nihilism of the closed cube argument frankly implodes upon itself.

From Washington Times • Jun. 14, 2023

Majok, however, isn’t trying to blow our epistemological paradigms.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 20, 2022

The clock metaphor is thus used by Descartes to make an epistemological argument about the limits of our understanding, rather than as an analogy as to how the universe actually works.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

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