What does metaphysical mean?
Metaphysical describes ideas, questions, or writing concerned with what is real, what exists, and how physical experience relates to a larger structure of reality. The word is especially common in philosophy, where it refers to the study of being, causation, identity, and knowledge. It can also suggest something that lies beyond the physical world, as in “metaphysical reality,” and in literary criticism it may characterize writing that is highly abstract, intricate, or intellectually demanding. Because metaphysical questions often lack straightforward empirical answers, the term can carry a sense of abstraction or impracticality in ordinary conversation. It remains valuable because it names the effort to ask fundamental questions that scientific observation alone may not answer.
Relating to metaphysics, abstract philosophical questions about reality and existence, or matters considered beyond the physical world.
"Her lecture focused on the metaphysical distinction between appearance and reality."
Often implies abstraction or complexity; in literary contexts, it can refer to a style of writing associated with metaphysical poetry.
A metaphysical concept, doctrine, or subject; also, historically, a member of the seventeenth-century English school of metaphysical poets.
"The novel's central concern is the metaphysical: how a person can know who they are."
This noun use is uncommon in modern general writing but is established in philosophical and literary contexts.
The word “metaphysical” began as a label for a branch of Aristotle’s philosophy and later became a byword for writing so abstract that it seemed to exist beyond ordinary experience.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does metaphysical come from?
The word comes through medieval Latin from Greek metaphysikos, a term associated with Aristotle’s works later grouped as “metaphysics.” Its elements are meta, meaning “after” or “beyond,” and physikos, meaning “natural” or “relating to nature.” In its philosophical development, the term came to designate inquiry into questions that lie beyond physical or natural explanation.
Related word forms
How metaphysical is actually used
In general use, “metaphysical” often suggests abstraction, complexity, or remoteness from practical concerns. In literary history, it refers specifically to a style of seventeenth-century English poetry known for complex imagery and philosophical argument.
Easily confused with metaphysical
Metaphysical concerns the nature of reality and existence, whereas metaphorical uses figures of speech to describe one thing in terms of another.