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ideological

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 21:49. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌaɪ.diː.əˈlɒd͡ʒ.ɪ.kəl/[1]
  • US: /ˌaɪ.di.əˈlɑ.d͡ʒɪ.kəl/, /ˌɪd.i.əˈlɑ.d͡ʒɪ.kəl/[1]

Etymology

It was formed in English from ideology with the suffix -ical, or from ideologic with -al;[2][3] the OED analyses it as ideo- with the combining form -logical, after ideology.[4] The noun is modelled on idéologie (“the science of ideas”), which the philosopher Destutt de Tracy coined in 1796 from the Greek-based elements for "idea" and "study".[2][4] The first element goes back to Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa, “form, idea”), the source of idea.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Relating to ideas or to the study of ideas: 1797, in the Monthly Magazine,[4][5][2] the date that Merriam-Webster also gives.[6] This sense is now rare.[4]

Semantic evolution

The adjective followed the history of ideology, which at first named Destutt de Tracy's philosophy of mind, deriving knowledge from the senses.[2] From 1837 it was used of people occupied with abstract or visionary ideas, speculative or idealistic,[4][5] echoing the dismissive sense of the noun.[4] The modern sense, relating to a political, economic or other system of beliefs, is recorded from 1873 in the Times,[4][5] and Dictionary.com dates the form ideologic to 1855–60.[3] Merriam-Webster also records a sense in criticism, suggestive of an idea or mood, as in ideological drama.[6]

Timeline

  • 1797 – relating to ideas or the study of ideas.[4][6]
  • 1837 – speculative, idealistic.[4]
  • 1873 – relating to a political or other system of beliefs.[4]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Relating to or based on an ideology, a system of political, economic or social beliefs: The two parties are divided by deep ideological differences.
  2. Relating to ideas or concerned with them.
  3. Based on fixed principles or a set of unshakeable beliefs; also, speculative or idealistic.

Word family

  • ideologically
  • nonideological
  • unideological
  • anti-ideological

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  6. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster