categorical
adjective
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The ancestor of categorical and category has been important in logic and philosophy since the days of Aristotle. Both English words come from the Greek word katēgoria, which Aristotle used to name the ten fundamental classes (also called "predications" or "assertions") of terms, things, or ideas into which he felt human knowledge could be organized. Ironically, although those categories and things categorical are supposed to be absolute and fundamental, philosophers have long argued about the number and type of categories that exist and the role they play in our understanding of the world. High-level philosophical disputes aside, the word categorical continues to sometimes describe an absolute assertion, one that involves no conditions or hypotheses—for example, the statement "hot dogs are sandwiches all humans are mortal."
Synonyms
- absolute
- all-out
- arrant
- blank
- blooming [chiefly British]
- bodacious [Southern & Midland]
- clean
- complete
- consummate
- crashing
- damn
- damned
- dead
- deadly
- definite
- downright
- dreadful
- fair
- flat
- flat-out
- out-and-out
- outright
- perfect
- plumb
- profound
- pure
- rank
- regular
- sheer
- simple
- stark
- stone
- straight-out
- thorough
- thoroughgoing
- total
- unadulterated
- unalloyed
- unconditional
- unmitigated
- unqualified
- utter
- very
Examples of categorical in a Sentence
Abdul Muqtadir Mohammed Zubair, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024
Such reasoning often derives from depression rather than psychosis, though some clinicians are reluctant to draw a categorical distinction.
—Eren Orbey, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024
That would effectively give geothermal some parity with oil and gas, which already gets similar categorical exclusions.
—Daniel Moore, Axios, 25 Sep. 2024
Unlike the Nobel Prizes, which annually award research in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, peace, and economic sciences, the Ig Nobels have no categorical constraints.
—Byhannah Richter, science.org, 13 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for categorical 
Dictionary Entries Near categorical
Cite this Entry
“Categorical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/categorical. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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categorical
adjective
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