sociological

American  

[soh-see-uh-loj-i-kuhl, soh-shee-] / ˌsoʊ si əˈlɒdʒ ɪ kəl, ˌsoʊ ʃi- /

Also sociologic

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of sociology and its methodology.

2. dealing with social questions or problems, especially focusing on cultural and environmental factors rather than on psychological or personal characteristics.

   a sociological approach to art.

3. organized into a society; social.

---

Other Word Forms

• nonsociological
  adjective
• unsociological
  adjective
• sociologically
  adverb
• unsociologically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of sociological

First recorded in 1835–45; sociolog(y) + -ic + -al ¹

Explanation

Anything sociological has to do with how society works. Sociological research — like, say, a sociological study that looks at economic inequality in a country — focuses on what people are doing not as individuals but as a group, Sociology is the study of how societies function—the way they form, what rules they follow, the way change affects them, and so on. Things that are related to sociology are sociological, and people who are particularly interested in sociological things are sociologists. They study things like the effects of technology or the role of art in a society. The Latin root of sociological is socius, "associate."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sociological

More interesting are the ideological and sociological reasons why the ban may have unintended negative consequences.

From Slate ● Jun. 18, 2026

Mr. Grace’s institutional history is itself a sociological study.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 18, 2026

But Erikson immersed himself in the community for more than a year and, in 1978, published “Everything in Its Path,” a foundational work in the sociological literature and a finalist for a National Book Award.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025

This version of “The Queen of Versailles,” making the visual most of settings by scenic and video designer Dane Laffrey, that can make Mar-a-Lago seem understated, embraces the sociological fable aspect of the tale.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2025

Barnes and Bloor are sociologists, and it is perfectly understandable that they insist that they and their fellow sociologists ought to stick to sociological explanations.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton