tautological

[ tawt-l-oj-i-kuhl ]

/ ˌtɔt lˈɒdʒ ɪ kəl /

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See synonyms for tautological on Thesaurus.com

adjective

(of a phrase) needlessly repetitive without adding information or clarity:Third-world communist regimes, with tautological insistence, call themselves "people's democracies."

(especially in logic) defined in terms of itself:Some would argue that the phrase ''survival of the fittest'' is tautological, in that the fittest are defined as those that survive to reproduce.

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CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Also tau·tol·o·gous

[taw-tol-uh-guhs] /tɔˈtɒl ə gəs/ . Sometimes tau·to·log·ic

[tawt-l-oj-ik] /ˌtɔt lˈɒdʒ ɪk/ .

Origin of tautological

tautolog(y) + -ical

OTHER WORDS FROM tautological

tau·to·log·i·cal·ly, tau·tol·o·gous·ly, adverbnon·tau·to·log·i·cal, adjectivenon·tau·to·log·i·cal·ly, adverbun·tau·to·log·i·cal, adjective

un·tau·to·log·i·cal·ly, adverb

Words nearby tautological

Tautavel man, tauted, tauten, tauto-, tautog, tautological, tautologism, tautologize, tautology, tautomer, tautomerism

How to use tautological in a sentence

A tautological sentence, perhaps, but one that nevertheless needs to be repeated and understood.
Michael Tomasky: Why Mitt Romney’s Opportunity Tack Won’t Work|Michael Tomasky|December 27, 2011|DAILY BEAST
The tautological blame always comes back to the claim that frivolous or even fraudulent lawsuits are commonplace.
Scalding Takedown on Tort Reform|Gerald L. Shargel|June 24, 2011|DAILY BEAST
There is the tautological talker, or the human self-repeater.
Talks on Talking|Grenville Kleiser
It is called vulgar in English; and indeed the addition of here or there is generally tautological.
Dissertation on the English Language|Noah Webster, Jr.

But the painter sometimes signed his name Franciscus Francia, a form which on Morelli's hypothesis would be tautological.
A Popular Handbook to the National Gallery, Volume I, Foreign Schools|Various
Therefore they give to the world the wholly vacuous, or merely tautological theory of causation—viz.
Thoughts on Religion|George John Romanes
But at once we perceive that this is a tautological expression, for what I please to do is simply what I choose.
Parallel Paths|Thomas William Rolleston