Example of a Tautology: What It Is and How To Use It

Do you know what a tautology is? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on tautologies, including its definition, usage, example sentences, and more!

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What is a tautology?

According to Your Dictionary, tautology is an expression or phrase that says the same thing twice but in a different words. The types of tautology are verbal tautology and logical tautology. These are similar to an example of epistrophe or an example of anaphora. The word tautology comes from the Greek word tauto and Late Latin tautologia. This can be used in logic statements (or logos), as well as mathematical expressions as a logical connector. In literature or poetry, it can be used for poetic license, to emphasize something, or to grab a reader’s attention. While these are technically unnecessary words, they are a natural part of ordinary language due to contradictions or a lack of clarity in everyday speech. This might cause ambiguity or negation in some circumstances.

What is an example of a tautology?

A tautology can be used in many different contexts in the English language. Trying to use a word or literary technique in a sentence is one of the best ways to memorize what it is, but you can also try making flashcards or quizzes that test your knowledge. Try using this term of the day in a sentence today! Below are a couple of examples of tautologies that can help get you started incorporating this tool into your everyday use.  Take a look at these tautology examples from Literary Devices, FOS and Your Dictionary. 

  •  Having a drug test is a necessary requirement for the job.
  •  I loved reading Sam’s autobiography of his own life.
  •  I went to see him personally.
  •  “Qué será, será./ Whatever will be, will be.” – Livingston & Evans
  •  ISBN number
  •  “I want to live while I am alive” – Bon Jovi
  •  close proximity
  •   Arnold family decided to return again for a second time to that old ancient house.
  •  This is a short summary of…
  •   With malice toward none, with charity for all. – Abraham Lincoln.
  •  Thanks to their joint collaboration the archaeologists found the handwritten manuscript in the destroyed ruins of the monastery.
  •  The wall was marred by a small, tiny speck of paint.
  •  The vote was completely and totally unanimous.
  •  After the failure, Ravi decided to live in lonely isolation.
  •  So the organization expects joint cooperation from its members.
  •  There is no need for undue haste.
  •  To reiterate again.
  •  A wishful start, one might say, but it was certainly a time of surreal dreams.
  •  We have to do forward planning for the coming festival.
  •  All well and good; to all intents and purposes; cool, calm, and collected.
  •  The group wanted to climb up to the very summit at the top of the Mt. Everest.
  •  Go sit in the corner where the walls and floor meet, boy!
  •  I’m having an ‘An American Werewolf in London’ movie night at my place.
  •  Today I saw a huge great big man in the bus.
  •  Beauty products of Lush have an aromatic aroma.
  •  DVD disc
  •  The school was in close proximity to the explosion.
  •  The World’s Greatest Spokesman in the World!
  •  SARS syndrome
  •  hot water heater
  •  The store is giving away free tickets!
  •  Remember when 4G cell phones were a new innovation?
  •  She always over exaggerates.
  •  “Our nation must come together to unite.” – George W. Bush
  •  Either it will rain tomorrow or it won’t rain.
  •  free gift
  •  minute to minute
  •  “And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.” – Genesis 43:14
  •  RAS syndrome
  •  In her tomb by the sounding sea.” – Edgar Allan Poe 
  •  VIN number (vehicle identification number number)
  •  PIN number (personal identification number number)
  •  In Rome, we saw dilapidated ruins.
  •  more and more
  •  “To be, or not to be, that is the question:/Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer/The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,/Or to take arms against a sea of troubles/And by opposing end them. To die—to sleep,/No more; and by a sleep to say we end/The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks/That flesh is heir to: ’tis a consummation/Devoutly to be wish’d. To die, to sleep;/To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there’s the rub:/For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,/When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,/Must give us pause—there’s the respect/That makes calamity of so long life.” – William Shakespeare, Hamlet
  •  necessary requirement
  •  She is brave or she is not brave.
  •  The storm hit at 2 p.m. in the afternoon.
  •  Please prepay in advance.
  •  personal opinion
  •  “Discovered by Pooh, Pooh found it .” – Winnie the Pooh, A.A. Milne
  •  “They are simply going to have to score more points than the other team to win the game.” – John Madden
  •  I need a new hot water heater.
  •  Let’s order a hoagie sandwich.
  •  “Only the lucky ones get lucky.” – Loverboy
  •  He is always making predictions about the future.
  •  repeat again
  •  She was a dark-haired brunette.
  •  Be careful, there is a lot of frozen ice on the road!
  •  Either the dog is brown or the dog is not brown.
  •  “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right.” – Abraham Lincoln
  •  “There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done./ There’s nothing you can sing that can’t be sung” – The Beatles
  •  GPS system
  •  They hiked to the summit at the top of the mountain.
  •  return back
  •  Alice started her presentation with a short summary.
  •  “I’m willing to tell you. I’m wanting to tell you. I’m waiting to tell you.” – Pygmalion, George Bernard Shaw
  •  “It’s no exaggeration to say the undecideds could go one way or another.” – George H. W. Bush
  •  six in one, half-dozen the other
  •  “But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping, / And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door.” – The Raven, Edgar Allan Poe

Overall, a tautology is the needless repetition of an idea or the use of words to say the same thing multiple times in different ways. Tautology is used in advertising, acronyms, symbolic logic, and more. This can also be used in maths and propositional formulas.

Sources:

  1. Examples of Tautology: Meaning and Common Forms | Your Dictionary 
  2. Tautology – Definition and Examples of Tautology in Literature | Literary Devices 
  3. Tautology Examples – Examples Of Tautology | FOS 
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Kevin Miller is a growth marketer with an extensive background in Search Engine Optimization, paid acquisition and email marketing. He is also an online editor and writer based out of Los Angeles, CA. He studied at Georgetown University, worked at Google and became infatuated with English Grammar and for years has been diving into the language, demystifying the do's and don'ts for all who share the same passion! He can be found online here.

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