adjective
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acting as or being a cause
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stating, involving, or implying a cause
the causal part of the argument
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philosophy (of a theory) explaining a phenomenon or analysing a concept in terms of some causal relation
Other Word Forms
- causally adverb
- noncausal adjective
- noncausally adverb
- supercausal adjective
- uncausal adjective
Etymology
Origin of causal
1520–30; < Latin causālis, equivalent to caus ( a ) cause + -ālis -al 1
Explanation
Have you ever heard the saying "One thing leads to another"? When one thing is known for certain to cause another thing, then the first thing can be called causal. Causal is a variation of the word cause, which should be a clue to its meaning. A cause is what makes something happen: the notebook flew across the room because you threw it, so your throwing it was causal. If a bolt of lightning set a statue on fire, the lightning was causal for the fire. Sometimes, we don't know what caused something, so we don't know what was causal. But if you can figure out "Who did it?" or "What did it?," then you've found what's causal.
Vocabulary lists containing causal
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I've Been to the Mountaintop" (1968)
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Society and Solitude
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We Are the Ants
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This isn’t causal proof—stricter traditions may attract more committed people—but the pattern is consistent.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 19, 2026
Supporters of Thomas defended the remarks as part of a broader critique of government overreach, suggesting he was drawing philosophical parallels rather than asserting a direct causal relationship.
From Salon • Apr. 18, 2026
We must confront the causal factors of antisemitism honestly and address antisemitism where it is most common and most virulent.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026
However, after deeper analysis, only tyrosine showed a consistent and potentially causal relationship with reduced life expectancy in men.
From Science Daily • Feb. 26, 2026
It made visible a causal relationship: the weight of the air and the weight of the mercury balanced each other.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
