Dictionary.com

tautological

[ tawt-l-oj-i-kuhl ]
/ ˌtɔt lˈɒdʒ ɪ kəl /
Save This Word!

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.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?
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

OTHER WORDS FROM tautological

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tautological in a sentence

FEEDBACK