ontological

American

[on-tl-oj-i-kuhl] / ˌɒn tlˈɒdʒ ɪ kəl /

Sometimes ontologic,

adjective

of or relating to ontology, the branch of metaphysics that studies the nature of existence or being as such; metaphysical.

Some of the U.S. founders held an ontological belief in natural rights.

Other Word Forms

nonontological adjective
unontological adjective

Etymology

Origin of ontological

First recorded in 1700–10; ontolog(y) ( def. ) + -ical ( def. )

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.

With spacetime, it's applied uncritically to a mathematical description of happenings -- turning a model into an ontological theory on the nature of being.

From Science Daily • Nov. 2, 2025

How much ontological truth were we capable of?

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 20, 2025

Whatever Ramona wanted in the car, she’s experiencing ontological buyer’s remorse in the now.

From Salon • Mar. 31, 2025

Berners-Lee wasn’t suggesting that ontological certitude would arise from the web mob’s ranking of websites that distributed the most accurate information.

From Slate • Dec. 3, 2022

So much for the author's psychology—let us now proceed to the ontological part of the work.

From The Philosophy of History, Vol. 1 of 2 by Schlegel, Friedrich

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023