Word.ws English Dictionary

circular definition

circular definition noun: a definition relying directly or indirectly on the term being defined.

Noun

circular definition (plural circular definitions)

  1. A definition relying directly or indirectly on the term being defined.
    • Saying that obscenity is indecent and then saying something is indecent if it's obscene is a circular definition.

Forms of circular definition

pluralcircular definitions

Questions about circular definition

What does circular definition mean?
Circular definition means a definition relying directly or indirectly on the term being defined.
What part of speech is circular definition?
Circular definition is a noun.
What is the plural of circular definition?
The plural of circular definition is circular definitions.

Words near circular definition in the dictionary

  1. circular breathing
  2. circular buffer
  3. circular buffers
  4. circular cone
  5. circular cones
  6. circular definition
  7. circular definitions
  8. circular dichroism
  9. circular economies
  10. circular economy
  11. circular fashion

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: circular definition (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

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