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

Common collocations

categorical denial 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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