categorical

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˌkætəˈɡɔrɪkəl/ UK /ˌkætəˈɡɒrɪkəl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
unconditional and absolute; admitting no exception

She issued a categorical denial of the charges.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · unconditional and absolute;... absolute unqualified unconditional explicit emphatic express downright

Opposites

qualified conditional tentative equivocal

Word family

Derived forms categoricallycategoricalness

Related forms category categoric categorize

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

categorical denial
an absolute statement that something is untrue, without qualifications or exceptions

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Late Latin categoricus + -al, from Greek kategorikos ('affirmative'), from kategoria ('predication'), from kategorein ('to assert, accuse').

kategoria Ancient Greek kategorein Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# categorical

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˌkætəˈɡɔrɪkəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌkætəˈɡɒrɪkəl/

## Meanings
1. unconditional and absolute; admitting no exception

## Examples
- She issued a categorical denial of the charges.

## Synonyms
- absolute
- unqualified
- unconditional
- explicit
- emphatic
- express
- downright

## Antonyms
- qualified
- conditional
- tentative
- equivocal

## Derived Forms
- categorically
- categoricalness

## Related Forms
- category
- categoric
- categorize

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: kategoria
- Root: kategorein

## Etymology
From Late Latin categoricus + -al, from Greek kategorikos ('affirmative'), from kategoria ('predication'), from kategorein ('to assert, accuse').

## AI Etymology
Categorical is from Late Latin categoricus + -al, from Greek kategorikos ('affirmative'), from kategoria ('predication'), from kategorein ('to assert, accuse'). In present-day use, it means unconditional and absolute; admitting no exception. Derived formations include categorically and categoricalness. Related vocabulary includes category, categoric, and categorize.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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