causality

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UK/kɔːˈzæl.ɪ.tɪ/UK[kʰoːˈz̥æl.ɪ.tɪ]US/kɔˈzæl.ɪ.tɪ/US[kʰɒːˈz̥æl.ɪ.tɪ]

noun

The agency of a cause; the action or power of a cause, in producing its effect.

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Less commonScrabble 14

Meanings

nouncausality (countable and uncountable, plural causalities)

plural causalities

  1. countableuncountableThe agency of a cause; the action or power of a cause, in producing its effect.
  2. countableuncountableThe relationship between something that happens or exists and the thing that causes it; the cause and consequence relationship.

    But how do transformations like the evolution of language take place? A scientist looks for a cause inside time; a mystic knows that causality is essentially a process that is outside time-space.

    1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 94
    1 more example

    But some discussion of the complex relationship between “allohistory” and sf is appropriate here, as the genres overlap in certain ways. Classical allohistory— such as Trevelyan's "What if Napoleon had won the Battle of Waterloo?" and Churchill's "If Lee had not won the Battle of Gettysburg" —is a rigorously consistent thought-experiment in historical causality.

    2011 February 1, Istvan Csicsery-Ronay, Jr., The Seven Beauties of Science Fiction, Wesleyan University Press, →ISBN, pages 102–103

Synonyms & antonyms

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Origin

From Latin as if *causalitas, from causalis (“causal”), from causa (“cause”). By surface analysis, causal + -ity = cause + -ality.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic سَبَبِيَّة, عليَة
  • سَبَبِيَّة (sababiyya)agency of cause
  • عليَةagency of cause
Bulgarian причинност
  • причинност (pričinnost)agency of cause
Catalan causalitat
  • causalitatagency of cause
Chinese Mandarin 因果關係 /因果关系, 因果律
  • 因果關係 /因果关系 (yīnguǒ guānxì)agency of cause
  • 因果律 (yīnguǒlǜ)agency of cause
Czech příčinnost
  • příčinnostagency of cause
Dutch causaliteit, oorzakelijkheid
  • causaliteitagency of cause
  • oorzakelijkheidagency of cause
Finnish kausaliteetti
  • kausaliteettiagency of cause
French causalité
  • causalitéagency of cause
German Kausalität, Ursache und Wirkung
  • Kausalitätagency of cause
  • Ursache und Wirkungcause and consequence relationship
Greek αιτιότητα, αιτιότητα
  • αιτιότητα (aitiótita)agency of cause
  • αιτιότητα (aitiótita)cause and consequence relationship
Hindi कारणता, कार्यकारण
  • कारणता (kāraṇtā)agency of cause
  • कार्यकारण (kāryakāraṇ)agency of cause
  • कारणता (kāraṇtā)cause and consequence relationship
  • कार्यकारण (kāryakāraṇ)cause and consequence relationship
Hungarian okság, ok-okozati viszony
  • okságcause and consequence relationship
  • ok-okozati viszonycause and consequence relationship
  • ok-okozatiságcause and consequence relationship
  • kauzalitáscause and consequence relationship
Italian causalità
  • causalitàagency of cause
Japanese 因果律
  • 因果律 (ingaritsu)agency of cause
Persian علیت
  • علیتagency of cause
Polish przyczynowość, przyczynowość
  • przyczynowośćagency of cause
  • przyczynowośćcause and consequence relationship
Portuguese causalidade
  • causalidadeagency of cause
Russian причи́нность, причи́нно-сле́дственная связь
  • причи́нность (pričínnostʹ)agency of cause
  • причи́нно-сле́дственная связь (pričínno-slédstvennaja svjazʹ)cause and consequence relationship
Spanish causalidad
  • causalidadagency of cause
Swedish kausalitet, orsakssammanhang
  • kausalitetagency of cause
  • orsakssammanhangagency of cause
  • kausalitetcause and consequence relationship
  • orsakssammanhangcause and consequence relationship
Thai เหตุภาพ, ปัจจัยภาพ
  • เหตุภาพagency of cause
  • ปัจจัยภาพagency of cause
Turkish sebebiyet
  • sebebiyetagency of cause
Urdu سببیہ
  • سببیہagency of cause

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with causality

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Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

causality. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/causality

MLA

“causality.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/causality. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “causality,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/causality.

Source: causality on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.