dialectic
noun · adjective
Simple meaning
A contradiction of ideas that serves as the determining factor in their interaction.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
dyuhlehktikSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
daɪəˈlɛktɪk
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A contradiction of ideas that serves as the determining factor in their interaction
“This situation created the inner dialectic of American history.”
Any formal system of reasoning that arrives at the truth by the exchange of logical arguments
HegelianismMarxism
Development by way of overcoming internal contradictions
adjective
Dialectal (of or relating to a dialect).
Dialectical (of or relating to dialectic)
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A contradiction of ideas that serves as the determining factor in their interaction
Used this way, dialectic is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“This situation created the inner dialectic of American history.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “dialectic of …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: dialectic of …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use dialectic
- “This situation created the inner dialectic of American history.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Formal
Contradiction
Other combinations
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Related to A contradiction of ideas that serves as the determining factor in their interaction.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: dialectal (of or relating to a dialect)
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.