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.

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Other Word Forms

• nonsociological adjective
• sociologically adverb
• unsociological adjective
• 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

Both men have helped bridge the gap between South and North and have offered a theological and sociological approach that represents Southern concerns in a less abrasive way than, for example, African Catholicism might.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026

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

If his sociological role is symbolic, his psychology adds depth.

From BBC • Sep. 24, 2025

This is a blinkered and shallow understanding of religion that crumbles under historical or sociological scrutiny.

From Slate • Jul. 9, 2025

My back to them, I picked a book at random—a ridiculous sociological text, as it happened—and pretended to study the index.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt