as in repetition
a statement in which you repeat a word, idea, etc., in a way that is not necessary
"A beginner who has just started" is a tautology.
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Recent Examples of tautology
That tautology, in the age of Trump, is now a matter of judicial precedent.
—
Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 29 Apr. 2025
Saying ‘Hungary is for Hungarians’ or ‘America is for Americans’ is a tautology.
—Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
The messianic claims of AI’s biggest stakeholders are tautologies: Generative AI will transform civilization; therefore, we must be empowered to steer it in the right direction.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2025
Sadaf spouts a tautology — faith as faith — that also holds for patriotism.
—Armond White, National Review, 22 Jan. 2025
Yes, a win is a win, but tautologies aside, for the Niners, a win with Purdy playing like one of the finest quarterbacks in the NFL on Sunday would speak volumes.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2024
In this tautology, the act of spending is proof that the spending is justified.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 17 Oct. 2024
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
Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 29 Apr. 2025
Saying ‘Hungary is for Hungarians’ or ‘America is for Americans’ is a tautology.
—Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
The messianic claims of AI’s biggest stakeholders are tautologies: Generative AI will transform civilization; therefore, we must be empowered to steer it in the right direction.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2025
Sadaf spouts a tautology — faith as faith — that also holds for patriotism.
—Armond White, National Review, 22 Jan. 2025
Yes, a win is a win, but tautologies aside, for the Niners, a win with Purdy playing like one of the finest quarterbacks in the NFL on Sunday would speak volumes.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2024
In this tautology, the act of spending is proof that the spending is justified.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 17 Oct. 2024
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tautology
Noun
-
For example, listening skills are widely accepted as a core management competency, but deep listening techniques, such as listening for repetition, intentions, and expectations, take time to master.—
Anna Shields,
Forbes.com,
24 July 2025
-
Matos is a longshot to make the 53-man roster but got a decent amount of repetitions Wednesday.—
Chris Perkins,
Sun Sentinel,
23 July 2025
Noun
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Vought, without an ounce of hyperbole, sits at the center of it all in part because of the near omnipresent role OMB plays in the operations of the federal government.—
Phil Mattingly,
CNN Money,
30 July 2025
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Coming from Johnson’s biographer (me), that claim may sound like hyperbole.—
Philip Nel
July 28,
Literary Hub,
28 July 2025
Noun
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Healthy ecosystems like and healthy organizations, build in complexity, redundancy, and flexibility.—
Scott Hutcheson,
Forbes.com,
28 July 2025
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If anything, the familiarity probably helps the fans out the least, as there is the chance both teams simply nullify each other’s threats to the point of redundancy.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
27 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tautology.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tautology. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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