ontological

adjective

on·​to·​log·​i·​cal ˌän-tə-ˈlä-ji-kəl How to pronounce ontological (audio)
1
: of or relating to ontology
an ontological principle
2
: relating to or based upon being or existence
Virtual environments engage millions of people and billions of dollars each year. What is the ontological status of the virtual objects that populate those environments?David Leech Anderson
ontologically adverb

Examples of ontological in a Sentence

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Nothing is stronger than a knowledge graph to deliver that context with ontological robustness. Rajiv Shesh, Forbes.com, 18 July 2025 Moten provides the ontological frame that haunts much of the preceding work: the notion that Blackness is not a category within being but a rupture of it. The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 17 July 2025 This floods the novel with a pervasive ontological instability; at the same time, these ghostly presences become an organizing principle for the style and form of the book itself. Katie Kitamura, Harpers Magazine, 16 July 2025 When social and national crises become catalysts for ontological disintegration? Ocean Vuong september 6, Literary Hub, 6 Sep. 2022 See All Example Sentences for ontological

Word History

First Known Use

1705, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of ontological was in 1705

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Cite this Entry

“Ontological.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ontological. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.

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