: needless repetition of an idea, statement, or word
Rhetorical repetition, tautology ('always and for ever'), banal metaphor, and short paragraphs are part of the jargon. Philip Howard
b
: an instance of such repetition
The phrase "a beginner who has just started" is a tautology.
2
logic: a statement that is true by virtue of its logical form alone
A logical combination of sentences that is always true, regardless of the truth or falsity of the constituent sentences, is known as a "tautology." Rudy Rucker
… now the objection was raised that the entire theory of natural selection rested on a tautology: "Who survives? The fittest. Who are the fittest? Those that survive." Ernst Mayr
Example Sentences
“A beginner who has just started” is a tautology.
Recent Examples on the WebSafdie filmmaking fulfills a boys-will-be-boys tautology. Armond White, National Review, 31 Aug. 2022 Commenters like to describe this as a beautiful tautology.New York Times, 6 Apr. 2022 This equation is based on a tautology: the velocity of money is defined as the ratio of nominal GDP (real GDP times the price level) to the money supply. Alexander William Salter, National Review, 9 Apr. 2021 Like the name of the lobbying group Leave Means Leave, the tautology suggests insecurity over the government’s commitment to honoring the referendum. Lionel Shriver, Harper's magazine, 10 Apr. 2019 Nowak and others claim that the general version of the formula is a tautology that can’t be tested empirically. Jordana Cepelewicz, Scientific American, 26 Apr. 2018 Profits have grown, but — contrary to Hassett’s simple tautology — wages have not followed. Jonathan Chait, Daily Intelligencer, 18 Apr. 2018 All the old political stagecraft and prevaricating, the Rumsfeldian tautologies — we’re way past that. Wesley Morris, New York Times, 24 Oct. 2017 Forgive the tautology, but such is the nature of what was once considered a premium position. Jack Wang, Orange County Register, 16 Apr. 2017 See More
Word History
Etymology
Late Latin tautologia, from Greek, from tautologos