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categorically

UK/kæt.əˈɡɒ.ɹɪk.(ə.)li/
adverbC1Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #11,264 of 15,258neutral

Categorically means absolutely and with no room for doubt. Categorically deny, categorically false, state it categorically.

It belongs almost entirely to denials, and a categorical denial is the strongest form there is, which is why lawyers weigh it so carefully. Anything less than categorically leaves the door open, and everybody hears that.

Definitions of categorically

  1. 1adverbcategoricallyAbsolutely and with no room for doubt.C1

    “I can categorically say that I have never been to that town.”

categorically is a manner.

Also accepted in games: unequivocally

Where it comes from

From categorical, from Greek kategorikos, from kategoria, an accusation or statement.

From categorical + -ly.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

categorically in the wild

  • McCree; neither decision, though, mandated the use of death-qualified juries as against those containing jurors categorically unwilling to impose a penalty of death.

    Death-qualified jury

  • The British government categorically refuses the Afghan request that it should intervene.

    1949 in Afghanistan

  • An adviser's role is that of a mentor or guide and differs categorically from that of a task-specific consultant.

    Adviser

  • The following is a categorically arranged list of notable singers of Sufi music.

    List of Sufi singers

  • However, they have stated categorically that volcanic activity is not involved.

    2008 Reno earthquakes

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

  • category
  • categorise
  • categorical