metaphysics

American  

[met-uh-fiz-iks] / ˌmɛt əˈfɪz ɪks /

noun

(used with a singular verb)

1. the branch of philosophy that treats of first principles, includes ontology and cosmology, and is intimately connected with epistemology.

2. philosophy, especially in its more abstruse branches.

3. the underlying theoretical principles of a subject or field of inquiry.

4. (initial capital letter, italics) a treatise (4th century b.c.) by Aristotle, dealing with first principles, the relation of universals to particulars, and the teleological doctrine of causation.

---

metaphysics British  

/ ˌmɛtəˈfɪzɪsɪst, ˌmɛtəˈfɪzɪks, ˌmɛtəfɪˈzɪʃən /

noun

1. the branch of philosophy that deals with first principles, esp of being and knowing

2. the philosophical study of the nature of reality, concerned with such questions as the existence of God, the external world, etc

3. See descriptive metaphysics

4. (popularly) abstract or subtle discussion or reasoning

---

metaphysics Cultural  

1. The field in philosophy that studies ultimate questions, such as whether every event has a cause and what things are genuinely real.

---

Other Word Forms

• metaphysician noun

Etymology

Origin of metaphysics

First recorded in 1560–70; from Medieval Latin metaphysica, from Medieval Greek (tà) metaphysiká (neuter plural), Greek tà metà tà physiká “the (works) after the Physics ”; with reference to the arrangement of Aristotle's writings

Explanation

Metaphysics is the philosophical study of being and knowing. If you have ever contemplated your own existence in the universe, you were dabbling in metaphysics. Metaphysics comes from the Greek meta ta physika ("the works after the Physics"), which refers those of Aristotle's writings that followed the natural sciences. This field of inquiry was later understood as "the science of things transcending what is physical and natural," like the existence of god or the origin of human knowledge. Metaphysics must therefore rely on philosophical logic, rather than scientific experiments, in exploring these questions.

Example Sentences

The company named the core of its product, Ontology, after the branch of metaphysics that studies existence.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 4, 2026

That friendship, though strengthened by economic ties, is rooted in metaphysics.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 18, 2026

A new staging presented by Bedlam makes a valiant effort to adapt Stoppard’s cerebral probes into chaos theory, Newtonian law, thermodynamics and metaphysics for a 2023 audience, but the result is a muddled one.

From New York Times • Nov. 17, 2023

Hall founded the Philosophical Research Society in 1934 to promote the study of philosophy, comparative religion, mysticism and metaphysics in Los Angeles and beyond.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 11, 2023

But Lancelot’s mind was not made for metaphysics.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Related Words

• attitude
• doctrine
• idea
• ideology
• logic
• outlook
• reasoning
• system
• tenet
• theory
• thinking
• thought
• truth
• view
• viewpoint
• wisdom