Axiom
noun ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A seemingly self-evident or necessary truth which is based on assumption; a principle or proposition which cannot actually be proved or disproved.
"Near-synonyms: given, facticity"
- 2 (logic) a proposition that is not susceptible of proof or disproof; its truth is assumed to be self-evident wordnet
- 3 A fundamental assumption that serves as a basis for deduction of theorems; a postulate (sometimes distinguished from postulates as being universally applicable, whereas postulates are particular to a certain science or context).
"Holonym: formal system"
- 4 a saying that is widely accepted on its own merits wordnet
- 5 An established principle in some artistic practice or science that is universally received.
"The axioms of political economy cannot be considered absolute truths."
Example
More examples"Cole's Axiom: The sum of the intelligence on the planet is a constant; the population is growing."
Etymology
From Middle French axiome in the 15th century, from Latin axiōma (“axiom; principle”), from Ancient Greek ἀξίωμα (axíōma, “that which is thought to fit, a requisite, that which a pupil is required to know beforehand, a self-evident principle”), from ἀξιόω (axióō, “to think fit or worthy, to require, to demand”), from ἄξιος (áxios, “fit, worthy”, literally “weighing as much as; of like value”), from ἄγω (ágō, “to weigh (down)”).
Related phrases
More for "axiom"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.