tautological
Meaning: Using different words to say the same thing unnecessarily, or (in logic) true by virtue of its logical form alone.
In everyday usage, tautological describes redundant expressions where the same idea is repeated, such as 'free gift' or 'forward planning.' In formal logic, a tautology is a statement that is true under every possible interpretation, such as 'it will either rain or not rain.' The word is primarily used in academic, editorial, and critical contexts to identify flawed reasoning or redundant phrasing.
Examples
- The phrase 'past history' is tautological, since history by definition refers to the past. past history'(过去的历史)是同义反复,因为history(历史)从定义上就指过去的事情。La expresión «past history» (historia pasada) es tautológica, puesto que la historia se refiere por definición al pasado.「past history(過去の歴史)」という表現はトートロジーです。historyは定義上、過去を指すからです。past history(과거의 역사)'라는 표현은 동어반복적입니다. history는 정의상 과거를 가리키기 때문입니다.
- The editor flagged several tautological expressions in the manuscript and asked the author to revise them. 编辑标记了手稿中若干同义反复的表达,要求作者进行修改。El editor señaló varias expresiones tautológicas en el manuscrito y pidió al autor que las revisara.編集者は原稿中のいくつかのトートロジー的な表現に印をつけ、著者に修正を求めました。편집자는 원고에서 동어반복적인 표현 여러 개에 표시를 하고 저자에게 수정을 요청했습니다.
- In logic, the statement 'either it is raining or it is not raining' is tautological because it is true regardless of the weather. 在逻辑学中,'要么在下雨,要么没在下雨'这一陈述是同义反复的,因为无论天气如何它都为真。En lógica, el enunciado «o está lloviendo o no está lloviendo» es tautológico porque es verdadero con independencia del tiempo que haga.論理学において、「雨が降っているか降っていないかのどちらかである」という命題はトートロジーです。天気に関係なく真だからです。논리학에서 '비가 오고 있거나 오지 않고 있거나 둘 중 하나이다'라는 명제는 동어반복적입니다. 날씨와 상관없이 항상 참이기 때문입니다.
Pronunciation
Usage Guide
Context: academic, professional
Tone: neutral
Origin & History
From Greek tautologos (repeating what has been said), from tauto (the same) and logos (word, speech). The term was adopted into English in the 16th century via Late Latin tautologia.
Cultural Context
Era: Modern
Generation: All ages
Social background: Universal
More From This Topic
More from General Advanced
Flashcards, quizzes, audio pronunciation & spaced repetition — all free