tautology

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: tau=tol=o=gy

CIDE DICTIONARY

tautology, n. [L. tautologia, Gr. : cf. F. tautologie.].

 A repetition of the same meaning in different words; needless repetition of an idea in different words or phrases; a representation of anything as the cause, condition, or consequence of itself, as in the following lines: --
The dawn is overcast, the morning lowers,
Addison.  [1913 Webster]

Syn. -- Repetition.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

tautology, n. (pl. -ies)
1 the saying of the same thing twice over in different words, esp. as a fault of style (e.g. arrived one after the other in succession).
2 a statement that is necessarily true.

Derivative

tautologic adj. tautological adj. tautologically adv. tautologist n. tautologize v.intr. (also -ise). tautologous adj.

Etymology

LL tautologia f. Gk (as TAUTO-, -LOGY)

THESAURUS

tautology

abundance, amplitude, battology, bedizenment, circumambages, circumbendibus, circumlocution, cloud of words, copiousness, diffuseness, diffusion, diffusiveness, duplication, duplication of effort, effusion, effusiveness, embellishment, expletive, extravagance, exuberance, fat, featherbedding, fecundity, fertility, filling, fluency, formlessness, frill, frills, frippery, gingerbread, gush, gushing, iteration, logorrhea, long-windedness, luxury, macrology, needlessness, ornamentation, outpour, overadornment, overflow, overlap, padding, palilogy, payroll padding, periphrase, periphrasis, pleonasm, prodigality, productivity, profuseness, profusion, prolificacy, prolificity, prolixity, rampancy, rankness, redundance, redundancy, reiteration, reiterativeness, repetition, repetition for effect, repetitiousness, repetitiveness, roundabout, stammering, stuttering, superabundance, superfluity, superfluousness, superflux, talkativeness, tautologism, teemingness, tirade, unnecessariness, verbality, verbiage, verbosity, wordiness

ROGET THESAURUS

tautology

Diffuseness

N diffuseness, amplification, dilating, verbosity, verbiage, cloud of words, copia verborum, flow of words, looseness, Polylogy, tautology, battology, perissology, pleonasm, exuberance, redundancy, thrice-told tale, prolixity, circumlocution, ambages, periphrase, periphrasis, roundabout phrases, episode, expletive, pennya-lining, richness, diffuse, profuse, wordy, verbose, largiloquent, copious, exuberant, pleonastic, lengthy, longsome, long-winded, longspun, long drawn out, spun out, protracted, prolix, prosing, maundering, circumlocutory, periphrastic, ambagious, roundabout, digressive, discursive, excursive, loose, rambling episodic, flatulent, frothy, diffusely, at large, in extenso, about it and about it.

Identity

N identity, sameness, coincidence, coalescence, convertibility, equality, selfness, self, oneself, identification, monotony, tautology, facsimile, homoousia: alter ego, ipsissima verba, same, self, very, one and the same, very thing, actual thing, real McCoy, no other, one and only, in the flesh, identical, self, ilk, the same, selfsame, one and the same, homoousian, coincide, coalescent, coalescing, indistinguishable, one, equivalent, tweedle dee and tweedle dum, much the same, of a muchness, unaltered, identically, on all fours.

Inutility

N inutility, uselessness, inefficacy, futility, ineptitude, inaptitude, unsubservience, inadequacy, inefficiency, unskillfulness, disservice, unfruitfulness (unproductiveness), labor in vain, labor lost, labor of Sisyphus, lost trouble, lost labor, work of Penelope, sleeveless errand, wild goose chase, mere farce, tautology, supererogation, vanitas vanitatum, vanity, inanity, worthlessness, nugacity, triviality, caput mortuum, waste paper, dead letter, blunt tool, litter, rubbish, junk, lumber, odds and ends, cast-off clothes, button top, shoddy, rags, orts, trash, refuse, sweepings, scourings, offscourings, waste, rubble, debris, detritus, stubble, leavings, broken meat, dregs, weeds, tares, rubbish heap, dust hole, rudera, deads, fruges consumere natus, useless, inutile, inefficacious, futile, unavailing, bootless, inoperative, inadequate, inservient, unsubservient, inept, inefficient, of no avail, ineffectual, incompetent, stale, flat and unprofitable, superfluous, dispensable, thrown away, abortive, worthless, valueless, priceless, unsalable, not worth a straw, dear at any price, vain, empty, inane, gainless, profitless, fruitless, unserviceable, unprofitable, ill-spent, unproductive, hors de combat, effete, past work, obsolete, fit for the dust hole, good for nothing, of no earthly use, not worth having, not worth powder and shot, leading to no end, uncalled for, unnecessary, unneeded, uselessly, to little purpose, to no purpose, to little or no purpose, Int, cui bono?, what's the good!, actum ne agas, chercher une aiguille dans une botte de foin, tanto buon che val niente.

Repetition

N repetition, iteration, reiteration, harping, recurrence, succession, run, battology, tautology, monotony, tautophony, rhythm, diffuseness, pleonasm, redundancy, chimes, repetend, echo, ritornello, burden of a song, refrain, rehearsal, rechauffe, rifacimento, recapitulation, cuckoo, reverberation, drumming, renewal, twice-told tale, old story, old song, second edition, new edition, reappearance, reproduction, recursion, periodicity, repeated, repetitional, repetitionary, recurrent, recurring, ever recurring, thick coming, frequent, incessant, redundant, pleonastic, monotonous, harping, iterative, recursive, unvaried, mocking, chiming, retold, aforesaid, aforenamed, above-mentioned, above-said, habitual, another, repeatedly, often, again, anew, over again, afresh, once more, ding-dong, ditto, encore, de novo, bis, da capo, again and again, over and over, over and over again, recursively, many times over, time and again, time after time, year after year, day by day, many times, several times, a number of times, many a time, full many a time, frequently, ecce iterum Crispinus, toujours perdrix, cut and come again, tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, cantilenam eandem canis, nullum est jam dictum quod non dictum sit prius.