metaphysical

American  

[met-uh-fiz-i-kuhl] / ˌmɛt əˈfɪz ɪ kəl /

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.

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metaphysical ¹ British  

/ 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

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Metaphysical ² British  

/ 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

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noun

1. a poet of this group

Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of metaphysical

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

Example Sentences

The pair behind ‘Little Amélie or the Character of Rain’ discuss how they combined real-life inspiration and metaphysical subject matter in their ‘phantasmagoric’ new film.

From Los Angeles Times

A moral universe without purgatory would be a thin, desiccated place: metaphysical reality flattened to nothing more than God and the individual soul that must, down the wearisome road, face some grim and final judgment.

From The Wall Street Journal

“There’s some strange magnetic force that’s in us — you can talk about God or whatever you want to call it — but I think it’s a metaphysical process that’s in us.”

From Los Angeles Times

Wellness has become the new luxury, but with a metaphysical twist.

From Barron's

As a 3-year-old, Smith recalls grilling her mother during evening prayers, posing metaphysical questions about Jesus and the soul, immersing herself in Bible study and later joining her mother as a Jehovah’s Witness.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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