• Today's Word

Tautological

taw-tuh-LODGE-ih-kul

Definition

(adjective) Needlessly repetitive; expressing something using different words that add no new meaning.

Example

Saying “free gift” is tautological—gifts are already free.

Fun Fact

While it sounds academic, tautological shows up all over everyday conversation—and advertising. “Added bonus,” “final conclusion,” “completely unanimous”—all examples of tautologies, or statements that repeat themselves. In formal logic, a tautology is always true (like “it will rain or it won’t”), but in writing and speech, it’s often just a filler phrase that adds no substance. Editors, professors, and debate judges hate it because it pretends to sound smart while saying absolutely nothing new.