as in theoretical
dealing with or expressing a quality or idea
ideograms are ideational—they are meant to suggest some general idea and not a particular word or phrase
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Recent Examples of ideational
The ideational content of the image — a man killing another man on a public sidewalk — is only half the message.
—
F.k. Plous, Chicago Tribune, 8 Jan. 2025
The United States, of course, cannot share everything—physical or ideational—with its partners.
—Thomas G. Mahnken, Foreign Affairs, 5 June 2024
This ideational convergence, deepened by two decades of accumulating trust between India and the United States, has enhanced the strategic partnership and set the stage for even closer cooperation in the future.
—Ashley J. Tellis, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2020
Steven Spielberg extends Griffith’s and Ford’s historical insight through an astonishing mix of visual and ideational dialectics.
—Armond White, National Review, 28 June 2023
Einstein’s theories as ideational relativism.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 3 May 2021
And the Trump Administration is taking concrete steps to encourage this ideational fusion.
—Time, 13 Dec. 2019
F.k. Plous, Chicago Tribune, 8 Jan. 2025
The United States, of course, cannot share everything—physical or ideational—with its partners.
—Thomas G. Mahnken, Foreign Affairs, 5 June 2024
This ideational convergence, deepened by two decades of accumulating trust between India and the United States, has enhanced the strategic partnership and set the stage for even closer cooperation in the future.
—Ashley J. Tellis, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2020
Steven Spielberg extends Griffith’s and Ford’s historical insight through an astonishing mix of visual and ideational dialectics.
—Armond White, National Review, 28 June 2023
Einstein’s theories as ideational relativism.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 3 May 2021
And the Trump Administration is taking concrete steps to encourage this ideational fusion.
—Time, 13 Dec. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ideational
Adjective
-
Innovation should be practical and actionable, not just theoretical.—
Cheryl Robinson,
Forbes,
8 Mar. 2025
-
The duo’s early work was more concerned with the theoretical underpinnings of architecture than the practice itself.—
Oscar Holland,
CNN,
7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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But the sequences are also meant to be dream visions, metaphysical and cinematic escapes into an alternate dimension full of exquisite grandiosity and grace.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
27 Jan. 2025
-
The movie is a metaphysical mystery, a sort of American gothic in which a warm and inviting old suburban house becomes the shivery site of a haunting, a confinement, and a menace.—
Richard Brody,
The New Yorker,
17 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Buyers are still looking for the most commercial pieces, without taking the whole range or more conceptual looks.—
Rhonda Richford,
WWD,
7 Mar. 2025
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Their dexterity in formal skills is matched by their conceptual prowess.—
Shantay Robinson,
ARTnews.com,
28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The pair tested their approach on the Abstraction and Reasoning Corpus (ARC-AGI), an unbeaten visual benchmark created in 2019 by machine learning researcher François Chollet to test AI systems' abstract reasoning skills.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
6 Mar. 2025
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Each shot looks like a page out of a cursed tome of twisted, postmodern fairy tales, the images forbidding and slightly abstract.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
6 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Williamson said earlier this week that his hamstring is completely healed, but his mental state remains a work in progress.—
oregonlive,
oregonlive,
13 Apr. 2023
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Sign up That Torrance pushed Vial and Eduardo to such mental anguish does not surprise immigrant-justice advocates.—
María Inés Taracena,
The New Republic,
12 Apr. 2023
Adjective
-
Many companies unknowingly create environments that discourage intellectual exploration, leading employees to disengage from problem-solving and creative thinking.—
Dr. Diane Hamilton,
Forbes,
8 Mar. 2025
-
McKinley displayed plenty of intellectual flexibility, manifested not just in his Hawaii and Cuba maneuverings but also in his willingness to alter his longtime advocacy of high protective tariffs and craft a new policy more in keeping with a changing world.—
Robert W. Merry,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
7 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ideational.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ideational. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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