teleological
adjective
ˌte-
Did you know?
Perhaps teleological was destined to serve a role in English. The word, along with its close relative teleology, comes to us by way of New Latin, from the Greek root telos, meaning "end or purpose." Both entered English in the 18th century, followed by teleologist in the 19th century. Teleology has the basic meaning of "the study of ends or purposes." A teleologist attempts to understand the purpose of something by looking at its results. A teleological philosopher might argue that we should judge whether an act is good or bad by seeing if it produces a good or bad result, and a teleological explanation of evolutionary changes claims that all such changes occur for a definite purpose.
Examples of teleological in a Sentence
Quanta Magazine, 24 July 2025
Without this clarity, organizations risk teleological confusion that can derail entire initiatives.
—Josipa Majic Predin, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025
The problem with teleological models of history is that once the final station is reached, the story is over, and nobody knows where to go next.
—Mario Carpo, Artforum, 1 Feb. 2025
And consider the benefits of a teleological perspective, setting future financial goals that inspire and motivate you, rather than being constrained by past financial missteps.
—Tim Maurer, Forbes, 12 Jan. 2025
Contrast Defoe’s confident, teleological, early-eighteenth-century Puritanism.
—James Wood, The New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2022
This catalog for an ingenious exhibition in Madrid arranges dozens of modernist paintings, plus African sculpture and Japanese woodblocks, in the exact order Barr mapped them — revealing the ambitions, and also limitations, of a teleological art history.
—Roberta Smith, New York Times, 26 Nov. 2020
There is no teleological trajectory, no natural and inevitable path from extractive, closed states to inclusive, open states.
—Stephen D. Krasner, Foreign Affairs, 10 Feb. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Teleological.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/teleological. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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teleological
adjective
ˌtēl-
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