tautology
noun
tau·tol·o·gy
tȯ-ˈtä-lə-jē 
plural tautologies
1
a
: needless repetition of an idea, statement, or word
Rhetorical repetition, tautology ('always and for ever'), banal metaphor, and short paragraphs are part of the jargon.—
Philip Howard
Philip Howard
b
: an instance of such repetition
The phrase "a beginner who has just started" is a tautology.
2
logic
: a statement that is true by virtue of its logical form alone
A logical combination of sentences that is always true, regardless of the truth or falsity of the constituent sentences, is known as a "tautology."—Rudy Rucker
Rudy Rucker… now the objection was raised that the entire theory of natural selection rested on a tautology: "Who survives? The fittest. Who are the fittest? Those that survive."—Ernst Mayr
Ernst MayrExamples of tautology in a Sentence
“A beginner who has just started” is a tautology.
Recent Examples on the Web
The goal was to market something in every category, which led to the occasional tautology.
—Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 22 Aug. 2024
In other words, the industry is asking the world to engage in something like a trillion-dollar tautology: AI’s world-transformative potential justifies spending any amount of resources, because its evangelists will spend any amount to make AI transform the world.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 29 July 2024
In his world view, doomed romanticism isn’t an oxymoron but a tautology: to experience love deep within one’s bones comes at the cost of one’s earthly comforts and worldly aspirations, even one’s life.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2024
At first, the subjective theory might be misunderstood as a tautology – market goods are worth what people will pay for them.
—Dave Birnbaum, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024
Too often, analysts of these anticorruption drives fall into a tautology, assuming that anyone purged for graft by an autocrat must have been an enemy of the autocrat to begin with—otherwise, why would they have been purged?
—Andrew Leber, Foreign Affairs, 15 Nov. 2017
Which is a tautology.
—Patrick Skerrett, STAT, 3 Mar. 2023
The tautology of our discovery vexed us for days.
—Rachel Kushner, Harper’s Magazine , 20 July 2022
Yet, sadly, this kind of glorious sandwich has become a very rare thing in America, and one need not be a New York prig to contend that outside of New York, good Jewish deli—which is a tautology—is nearly impossible to find, with the exception of one or two places in Los Angeles.
—John Mariani, Forbes, 27 Oct. 2021
Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 22 Aug. 2024
In other words, the industry is asking the world to engage in something like a trillion-dollar tautology: AI’s world-transformative potential justifies spending any amount of resources, because its evangelists will spend any amount to make AI transform the world.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 29 July 2024
In his world view, doomed romanticism isn’t an oxymoron but a tautology: to experience love deep within one’s bones comes at the cost of one’s earthly comforts and worldly aspirations, even one’s life.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2024
At first, the subjective theory might be misunderstood as a tautology – market goods are worth what people will pay for them.
—Dave Birnbaum, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024
Too often, analysts of these anticorruption drives fall into a tautology, assuming that anyone purged for graft by an autocrat must have been an enemy of the autocrat to begin with—otherwise, why would they have been purged?
—Andrew Leber, Foreign Affairs, 15 Nov. 2017
Which is a tautology.
—Patrick Skerrett, STAT, 3 Mar. 2023
The tautology of our discovery vexed us for days.
—Rachel Kushner, Harper’s Magazine , 20 July 2022
Yet, sadly, this kind of glorious sandwich has become a very rare thing in America, and one need not be a New York prig to contend that outside of New York, good Jewish deli—which is a tautology—is nearly impossible to find, with the exception of one or two places in Los Angeles.
—John Mariani, Forbes, 27 Oct. 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tautology.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near tautology
Cite this Entry
“Tautology.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tautology. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tautology
noun
tau·tol·o·gy
tȯ-ˈtäl-ə-jē
plural tautologies
: needless repetition of an idea, statement, or word
also
: an instance of such repetition
"a beginner who has just started" is a tautology
tautological
adjective
ˌtȯt-ᵊl-ˈäj-i-kəl
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