tautology
4 synonyms and 2 antonyms for tautology, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — The needless repetition of an idea in different words, such as "free gift" or "a new innovation".
Synonyms
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. noun
The needless repetition of an idea in different words, such as "free gift" or "a new innovation".
“"Return back" is a tautology; "return" already contains the idea of going back.”
Opposites
2. noun technical
In logic, a statement that is true in every possible case because of its structure alone, such as "either it will rain or it will not rain".
“A tautology carries no information, since it rules nothing out.”
Opposites
How to use tautology
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
The rhetorical sense is common in editing and style guides; the logical sense is technical.
Etymology
From Greek tautologia, from tauto "the same" and logos "word, saying".
Full origin of tautology →