epistemic

[ ep-uh-stee-mik, -stem-ik ]

adjective

1. of or relating to knowledge or the conditions for acquiring it.

epistemic

/ ˌɛpɪˈstiːmɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to knowledge or epistemology
2. denoting the branch of modal logic that deals with the formalization of certain epistemological concepts, such as knowledge, certainty, and ignorance. See also doxastic

Derived Forms

• ˌepisˈtemically, adverb

Other Words From

• epi·stemi·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of epistemic¹

1920–25; < Greek epistēmikós, equivalent to epistḗm ( ē ) knowledge + -ikos -ic

Word History and Origins

Origin of epistemic¹

C20: from Greek epistēmē knowledge

Example Sentences

It has become routine to lament how political partisans cannot break out of their “media silos,” creating an “epistemic crisis” in which voters exclusively receive information that reinforces their biases.

From Salon

Though the actions are similar, there are differences and the Johns Hopkins team surmised observers would be able to detect another person's "epistemic goals" just by watching them.

From Science Daily

"People deprived of epistemic agency and subjective insight in their own life will reassert it, in ways that also explain the exclusion. That doesn’t mean they will correctly discover the specific causes for their exclusion."

From Salon

Trump understood that there was great demand for a leader who would stick his thumb in our eyes on a daily basis and reject the whole epistemic regime that we rode in on.

From Seattle Times

Government always needs but rarely has epistemic humility, an understanding not just of what it does not know, but what it cannot know.

From Washington Post