as in repetition
a statement in which you repeat a word, idea, etc., in a way that is not necessary
"A beginner who has just started" is a tautology.
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Recent Examples of tautology
That tautology, in the age of Trump, is now a matter of judicial precedent.
—
Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 29 Apr. 2025
Saying ‘Hungary is for Hungarians’ or ‘America is for Americans’ is a tautology.
—Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
Sadaf spouts a tautology — faith as faith — that also holds for patriotism.
—Armond White, National Review, 22 Jan. 2025
Yes, a win is a win, but tautologies aside, for the Niners, a win with Purdy playing like one of the finest quarterbacks in the NFL on Sunday would speak volumes.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2024
The goal was to market something in every category, which led to the occasional tautology.
—Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 22 Aug. 2024
Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 29 Apr. 2025
Saying ‘Hungary is for Hungarians’ or ‘America is for Americans’ is a tautology.
—Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
Sadaf spouts a tautology — faith as faith — that also holds for patriotism.
—Armond White, National Review, 22 Jan. 2025
Yes, a win is a win, but tautologies aside, for the Niners, a win with Purdy playing like one of the finest quarterbacks in the NFL on Sunday would speak volumes.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2024
The goal was to market something in every category, which led to the occasional tautology.
—Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 22 Aug. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tautology
Noun
-
But like so much else of what The Boys has been doing in its fifth and final season, the repetition of this series trope feels less like a callback than a fallback.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
29 Apr. 2026
-
After three verse-chorus repetitions, the quartet stop the song cold and set off in a new direction, churning out pure noise even as drummer Steve Shelley keeps everyone anchored.—
Stephen M. Deusner,
Pitchfork,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Remaining on stage with gracious verbalism, Batiste first acknowledged the nominees.—
Allison Hazel,
Essence,
9 June 2021
Noun
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The repetitiveness of the plot is not helped by the many montages writer-director Yandy Laurens uses as shortcuts, instead of writing scenes that show how the central relationship is developing.—
Murtada Elfadl,
Variety,
15 Dec. 2025
Noun
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To address this gap, ReturnPro introduced its 2026 Sustainability Alignment Index, a framework created to measure how effectively retailers translate sustainability efforts into consumer-visible validation across areas such as trust and circularity.—
Alexandra Harrell,
Footwear News,
29 Apr. 2026
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Whether circularity guidelines and ESG targets focused on regenerative fibers will meet these demands remains to be seen.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
That is true, that is not hyperbole.—
City News Service,
Daily News,
16 Apr. 2026
-
The bill’s supporters rely on conspiratorial hyperbole that would make a MAGA podcaster proud.—
Steven Greenhut,
Oc Register,
12 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
There’s a lot of redundancy built in there.—
Jonathan M. Gitlin,
ArsTechnica,
28 Apr. 2026
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With systems like Starlink designed for redundancy, achieving meaningful offensive effects may now require a higher degree of escalation, raising both operational and political risks.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
26 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tautology.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tautology. Accessed 4 May. 2026.
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