tautological

American  

[tawt-l-oj-i-kuhl] / ˌtɔt lˈɒdʒ ɪ kəl /

Also tautologous sometimes tautologic

adjective

1. (of a phrase) needlessly repetitive without adding information or clarity.

   Third-world communist regimes, with tautological insistence, call themselves "people's democracies."

2. (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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Other Word Forms

• nontautological adjective
• nontautologically adverb
• tautologically adverb
• tautologously adverb
• untautological adjective
• untautologically adverb

Etymology

Origin of tautological

tautolog(y) ( def. ) + -ical ( def. )

Explanation

Something tautological is redundant and circular, especially when talking about logic. "Logical things are logical" is a tautological sentence. We use the word tautological for statements that go in a circle, like this sentence: "A circle is circular." This is a logical problem, because it doesn't make sense to define something in terms of itself. If you don't know what a fish is, then "fish are fishy" means nothing. When you're trying to make a point, avoid tautological statements.

Example Sentences

The company’s ticker is “YOU,” reflecting its tautological motto: “You are you.”

From Slate • Dec. 20, 2022

Attempting to define this unique, curvilinear object is a tautological exercise.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 27, 2022

Begging the question actually means posing or answering a question in a circular or tautological manner; your conclusion is foregone.

From Scientific American • Aug. 7, 2021

FINA’s argument that, to its “best knowledge, the athletes competing at such international events never used,” nor required, “caps of such size and configuration” is infuriatingly tautological.

From Washington Post • Jul. 3, 2021

When the choir of two-fisted tenors on the record were “proud to bear the title” Colonel Meecham entered the room slapping the swagger stick in a steady, tautological rhythm that seemed ominous, even predatory.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy