as in theoretical
dealing with or expressing a quality or idea
ideograms are ideational—they are meant to suggest some general idea and not a particular word or phrase
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Recent Examples of ideational
The ideational content of the image — a man killing another man on a public sidewalk — is only half the message.
—
F.k. Plous, Chicago Tribune, 8 Jan. 2025
This process, which Doten-Snitker and her coauthors term ideational diffusion, often took many years as people in towns and cities needed time to digest new ideas about witchcraft and turn them into behavior.
—Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2024
The ideational content of the image — a man killing another man on a public sidewalk — is only half the message.
—F.k. Plous, Chicago Tribune, 8 Jan. 2025
The United States, of course, cannot share everything—physical or ideational—with its partners.
—Thomas G. Mahnken, Foreign Affairs, 5 June 2024
This ideational convergence, deepened by two decades of accumulating trust between India and the United States, has enhanced the strategic partnership and set the stage for even closer cooperation in the future.
—Ashley J. Tellis, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2020
Steven Spielberg extends Griffith’s and Ford’s historical insight through an astonishing mix of visual and ideational dialectics.
—Armond White, National Review, 28 June 2023
Einstein’s theories as ideational relativism.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 3 May 2021
And the Trump Administration is taking concrete steps to encourage this ideational fusion.
—Time, 13 Dec. 2019
F.k. Plous, Chicago Tribune, 8 Jan. 2025
This process, which Doten-Snitker and her coauthors term ideational diffusion, often took many years as people in towns and cities needed time to digest new ideas about witchcraft and turn them into behavior.
—Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2024
The ideational content of the image — a man killing another man on a public sidewalk — is only half the message.
—F.k. Plous, Chicago Tribune, 8 Jan. 2025
The United States, of course, cannot share everything—physical or ideational—with its partners.
—Thomas G. Mahnken, Foreign Affairs, 5 June 2024
This ideational convergence, deepened by two decades of accumulating trust between India and the United States, has enhanced the strategic partnership and set the stage for even closer cooperation in the future.
—Ashley J. Tellis, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2020
Steven Spielberg extends Griffith’s and Ford’s historical insight through an astonishing mix of visual and ideational dialectics.
—Armond White, National Review, 28 June 2023
Einstein’s theories as ideational relativism.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 3 May 2021
And the Trump Administration is taking concrete steps to encourage this ideational fusion.
—Time, 13 Dec. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ideational
Adjective
-
The Dutch theoretical physicist, now a professor emeritus at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, has spent much of the past half-century reshaping our understanding of the fundamental forces that knit together reality.—
Lee Billings,
Scientific American,
7 Apr. 2025
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Legacy power grids, water systems and emergency response networks are no longer theoretical.—
Marty Sprinzen,
Forbes.com,
7 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
In the 19th century, philosophers and poets dabbled with it in the pursuit of metaphysical insights.—
Ella Jeffries,
Smithsonian Magazine,
8 Apr. 2025
-
Beelzebub, however, is nothing but evil incarnate, first appearing as a sort of metaphysical pollution—a writhing black oil-like glob suspended in midair.—
Richard Brody,
The New Yorker,
11 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
After this period, Lennon and Ono would never again court the world’s attention with ambitious conceptual stunts or overt political protests.—
Jordan Runtagh,
People.com,
12 Apr. 2025
-
The event’s lead designer, the late avant-garde architect Kenzo Tange, was known for conceptual floating cities and grand, outlandish megastructures.—
Hanako Montgomery,
CNN Money,
10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
The Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum fills in the gaps, connecting the old world to the new with impressionists and abstract pioneers.—
AFAR Media,
AFAR Media,
11 Apr. 2025
-
This technology is transforming abstract climate change discussions into concrete, measurable data.—
Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report,
FOXNews.com,
10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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This definition also includes instance in which the victim is incapable of giving consent because of temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity (include due to the influence of drugs or alcohol) or because of age.—
Baltimore Sun staff,
Baltimore Sun,
11 Apr. 2025
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The World Health Organization defines burnout as an occupational phenomenon which is characterized by feelings of energy depletion, increased mental distance from one's job, and reduced professional efficacy.—
Daniel R. Depetris,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Iran has cultivated an astonishing intellectual and artistic depth with far fewer resources than many other nations.—
Rebecca Ruth Gould,
JSTOR Daily,
9 Apr. 2025
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Framed as a biography of Jensen Huang, the only CEO Nvidia has ever had, the book is also something more interesting and revealing: a window onto the intellectual, cultural, and economic ecosystem that has led to the emergence of superpowerful AI.—
James Surowiecki,
The Atlantic,
8 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ideational.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ideational. Accessed 21 Apr. 2025.
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