teleological

[ tel-ee-uh-loj-i-kuhl, tee-lee- ]

adjective

, Philosophy.

1. of or relating to teleology, the philosophical doctrine that final causes, design, and purpose exist in nature.

Other Words From

• tele·o·logi·cal·ly adverb
• nontel·e·o·logi·cal adjective
• nontel·e·o·logi·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of teleological¹

teleolog(y) + -ical

Example Sentences

Instead, Harris’s seamless, all-explanatory narrative feels increasingly and weirdly teleological, like a cult belief system.

From New York Times

In such a way he avoids the teleological danger of making everything in Britain about the war as the country hurtles toward some kind of inevitable abyss.

From New York Times

Aristotle thus does not think of the natural movement of the elements as movement through space; he sees it in teleological terms as the realization of potential.

From Literature

Ross seems to acknowledge that, but he also protests that the “Wagner-to-Hitler” meme suggests a teleological progression that, while perhaps convenient, is dangerously simplistic.

From New York Times

Journalist Garry Wills saw it differently, as he explained in 1976: “It is unfortunate that McCarthyism was named teleologically, from its most perfect product, rather than genetically — which would give us Trumanism.”

From Washington Post