causal

adjective

caus·​al ˈkȯ-zəl 

1

: expressing or indicating cause : causative

a causal clause introduced by since

2

: of, relating to, or constituting a cause

the causal agent of a disease

3

: involving causation or a cause : marked by cause and effect

a causal link

evidence suggests that there is a strong causal relationship between an individual's experiences with his parents and his later capacity to make affectional bonds

—G. A. Miller

4

: arising from a cause

a causal development

causally

ˈkȯ-zə-lē 

adverb

Examples of causal in a Sentence

No causal connection between the events was found.

There is a causal link between poverty and crime.

Recent Examples on the Web

Previous studies have shown a correlation between dysmenorrhea and depression but didn’t establish a causal relationship at the genetic level, Moraros said. —Kristen Rogers, CNN, 29 Nov. 2024

Competing language models mitigate hallucinations and can explain the causal chains for individual cases while digesting thousands of pages related to global and local regulatory environments. —Expert Panel®, Forbes, 25 Nov. 2024

Whenever two or more such present states have the same distribution of possible futures, they are said to be in the same causal state. —Philip Ball, WIRED, 21 July 2024

There’s a lot of causal evidence just in the experiments. —Sean Illing, Vox, 8 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Late Latin causālis, from Latin causa cause entry 1 + -ālis -al entry 1

First Known Use

circa 1530, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

causal

adjective

caus·​al ˈkȯ-zəl 

: of, relating to, or being a cause

Legal Definition

causal

adjective

caus·​al ˈkȯ-zəl 

1

: of, relating to, or constituting a cause

causal negligence

2

: involving causation or a cause

no causal relationship between driving without insurance and the accident

—National Law Journal

a causal link exists between the deceptive act and the injury

—National Law Journal

3

: arising from a cause