causality

noun

cau·​sal·​i·​ty kȯ-ˈza-lə-tē 

plural causalities

1

: a causal quality or agency

2

: the relation between a cause and its effect or between regularly correlated events or phenomena

Synonyms

• antecedent
• causation
• cause
• occasion
• reason

Examples of causality in a Sentence

Scientists found no causality between the events.

a supreme being is a being that, by definition, has no causality of its own

Recent Examples on the Web

Tregenza’s agile camera connects characters to one another, linking actions in suspenseful chains of causality, and rooting the drama in a sense of locale, both in intimate domestic settings and in mighty, numinous landscapes. —Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2025

Trump's misinterpreted or ignored causality behind the Russian war against Ukraine could play into Moscow's hands during peace talks. —Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 24 Jan. 2025

In many countries plunged into war, the causalities include civil society. —Karl Vick, TIME, 16 Jan. 2025

The International Agency on Cancer Research found causality between alcohol use and oral, esophageal, pharyngeal, laryngeal, liver, colorectal, and breast cancers. —Betsy Andrews, Saveur, 9 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin causālitāt- causālitās, from Late Latin causālis causal + Latin -itāt-, -itās -ity

First Known Use

1603, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for causality

• equality
• frivolity
• sodality
• inequality
• jollity
• polity
• quality

Legal Definition

causality

noun

cau·​sal·​i·​ty kȯ-ˈza-lə-tē 

plural causalities

: the relationship between cause and effect