Meanings
- alternativeAlternative spelling of Occam's razor.
1 more example
But at many other times, journalists come up with overly convoluted explanations for Trump's behavior ("this seemingly self-destructive emotional outburst is actually a clever political strategy!") when simpler ones will suffice ("this is a self-destructive emotional outburst."). In doing so, they violate both Ockham's razor and Hanlon's razor — the latter of which can be stated as "never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."
2017 September 30, Nate Silver, “The Media Needs To Stop Rationalizing President Trump's Behavior”, in FiveThirtyEight, archived from the original on 30 Sep 2017
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe principle that entities should not be multiplied needlessly; the simplest of two competing theories is to be preferred
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Cite this entry
Ockham's razor. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ockham's%20razor
“Ockham's razor.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ockham's%20razor. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Ockham's razor,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ockham's%20razor.
Source: Ockham's razor on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.