tautological

[ tawt-l-oj-i-kuhl ]

adjective

1. (of a phrase) needlessly repetitive without adding information or clarity:

   Third-world communist regimes, with tautological insistence, call themselves "people's democracies."

2. (especially in logic) defined in terms of itself:

   Some would argue that the phrase ''survival of the fittest'' is tautological, in that the fittest are defined as those that survive to reproduce.

Other Words From

• tau·to·log·i·cal·ly tau·tol·o·gous·ly adverb
• non·tau·to·log·i·cal adjective
• non·tau·to·log·i·cal·ly adverb
• un·tau·to·log·i·cal adjective
• un·tau·to·log·i·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of tautological¹

tautolog(y) ( def ) + -ical ( def )

Example Sentences

McCarthy’s peculiar ambition appears to be entirely tautological: He should have the speakership because he deserves it, not because of what he wants to do with it.

From Washington Post

Attempting to define this unique, curvilinear object is a tautological exercise.

From Los Angeles Times

Since those programs can go bankrupt only if Congress connives for that to happen, this is a curiously tautological mandate.

From Los Angeles Times

“That’s almost tautological,” Weiss said, because rising prices for oil and other commodities are often some of the main reasons for inflation spikes.

From Seattle Times

“In fact, the genre people call self-help literature sounds tautological to me; I read all literature as self-help.”

From New York Times