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
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
In his world view, doomed romanticism isn’t an oxymoron but a tautology: to experience love deep within one’s bones comes at the cost of one’s earthly comforts and worldly aspirations, even one’s life.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2024
At first, the subjective theory might be misunderstood as a tautology – market goods are worth what people will pay for them.
—Dave Birnbaum, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024
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
In his world view, doomed romanticism isn’t an oxymoron but a tautology: to experience love deep within one’s bones comes at the cost of one’s earthly comforts and worldly aspirations, even one’s life.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2024
At first, the subjective theory might be misunderstood as a tautology – market goods are worth what people will pay for them.
—Dave Birnbaum, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tautology
Noun
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People who completed the 10 repetitions for each exercise easily for two consecutive sessions moved up to a harder version of the exercise.—
Kristen Fischer,
Health,
17 Apr. 2025
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He was inspired by the terse, concrete lines of Gertrude Stein and the repetition printmaking of Andy Warhol.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
15 Apr. 2025
Noun
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An article that appeared in the Financial Times explicitly mentions hyperbole as being one of Tesla’s major assets.—
Hersh Shefrin,
Forbes.com,
5 Apr. 2025
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Kennedy said this could be a real challenge because art and its penchant for hyperbole is protected by the First Amendment.—
Nancy Dillon,
Rolling Stone,
1 Apr. 2025
Noun
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There’s inherently a lot of redundancy in reporting, because many outlets cover the same momentous happenings, and seek to do so from multiple angles.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
8 Apr. 2025
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And there are redundancies if a pilot or controller starts to do something wrong.—
Alexandra Skores,
CNN Money,
29 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tautology.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tautology. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.
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