ontological

adjective

on·​to·​log·​i·​cal ˌän-tə-ˈlä-ji-kəl 

1

: of or relating to ontology

an ontological principle

2

: relating to or based upon being or existence

Virtual environments engage millions of people and billions of dollars each year. What is the ontological status of the virtual objects that populate those environments?

—David Leech Anderson

ontologically

ˌän-tə-ˈlä-ji-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Examples of ontological in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This kind of ontological relationship is crucial for accurate clinical decision-making but is often overlooked by traditional semantic retrieval systems. —Michal Tzuchman Katz Md, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2025

In the case of Nabokov and Borges, the ontological status is even less settled. —Jonathon Keats, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2024

There is fun, and glory, but underneath these is a more inchoate drive, an ontological imperative, maybe, to play with fire. —Rachel Kushner, Harper's Magazine, 2 Dec. 2024

Setting aside that ontological question, does this particular story really call for a dramatization? —Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1705, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing ontological

• ontological argument

Rhymes for ontological

• analogical
• astrological
• biological
• christological
• chronological
• cosmological
• cytological
• dialogical
• ecological
• ethnological
• ethological
• geological