Ideological is an adjective describing ideas, beliefs, or a system of thought, especially those shaping political or cultural viewpoints. It implies a structured, dogmatic framework guiding actions and judgments. The term often appears in critical or analytical discourse about ideological influences on policy, society, or behavior.
"The debate centered on the ideological underpinnings of the party’s platform."
"Her ideological commitments shaped every policy she advocated."
"Critics argued that the curriculum was biased by a particular ideological agenda."
"The documentary exposed how ideological narratives influence media coverage."
Ideological derives from the noun ideology, which comes from French idéologie, itself from Medieval Latin idea + Greek logia (speaking, study). The root idea is 'form of thought' or 'system of beliefs.' Ideology entered English in the early 19th century, with thinkers like Destutt de Tracy popularizing the term in France as a science of ideas (idéologie). By the mid-1800s, English writers used ideology to describe a consistent set of ideas forming political or religious worldviews. The suffix -ical, from Latin -icus, turns the noun ideology into an adjective, indicating relation to a system of ideas. Over time, ideological broadened beyond philosophy to denote biases and frameworks shaping behavior, rhetoric, and policy in social sciences and public discourse. In contemporary usage, it often carries evaluative or critical connotations about the influence of belief systems on actions, language, and institutions, while still retaining a neutral descriptive sense in academic writing.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Ideological" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "Ideological"
-tal sounds
-ial sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Pronounce as /ˌaɪ.dɪˈlɒ.dʒɪ.kəl/ in US and /ˌaɪ.dɪˈlɒ.dʒɪ.kəl/ in UK, with primary stress on the third syllable after ‘di-’. Break it into: eye- (I) + di- (dih) + lo- (loh) + gial (jie-uhl: /dʒiː.əl/ in practice) + cal (kuhl). Focus on the /dʒ/ sound in the “dogical” part and the unstressed -al ending. For near-casual, you’ll often hear it as /ˌaɪ.dɪˈlɒdʒɪkəl/ in fast speech, but the key is the /ˈlɒdʒ/ cluster and the final /kəl/. IPA: US /ˌaɪ.dɪˈlɒ.dʒɪ.kəl/; UK /ˌaɪ.dɪˈlɒ.dʒɪ.kəl/; AU /ˌaɪ.dɪˈlɒ.dʒɪ.kəl/.
Common errors include misplacing stress (putting emphasis on the first syllable), mispronouncing the /dʒ/ as a hard /tʃ/ as in 'church,' and flattening the unstressed -ical to a full syllable. Another frequent slip is pronouncing the middle vowel cluster as /ɒd/ instead of /dɒdʒɪ/. Correction: keep the primary stress on the third syllable, pronounce the /dʒ/ as in 'general' (/dʒ/), and reduce the final -al to a light /əl/ with a short, relaxed schwa before it.
US tends to rhoticize the final /əl/ with a clearer /əl/ in unstressed syllables; UK often has a non-rhotic accent and may reduce the /ɪ/ in the second syllable slightly more, making /ˌaɪ.dɪˈlɒ.dʒɪ.kəl/ with a lighter /ə/ in -ical. Australian tends to be closer to UK but with a slightly flatter intonation and a clearer /ˈlɒ/ vowel; some speakers maintain a stronger /ɒ/ in the first unstressed syllable. The critical consonant /dʒ/ remains consistent across accents.
The difficulty lies in the multi-syllabic structure and the /dʒ/ consonant cluster combined with the final unstressed -ical. The syllable boundary between di- and lo- can be tricky, and the second syllable often reduces to /dɪ/ in rapid speech, while the third bears the primary stress. Additionally, coarticulation around the /dʒ/ and the schwa in -ical can blur in fast speech, so precise tongue placement and keeping the /dʒ/ distinct helps clarity.
A distinctive feature is the /dʒ/ sound in the root of the second-to-last stressed syllable and the placement of primary stress on the third syllable, making the word feel longer and more formal. The sequence /lɒ/ followed by /dʒɪ/ requires the tongue to lift to a palato-alveolar position for /dʒ/, then quickly ease into a schwa-plus-consonant ending. Practicing the transition from /lɒ/ to /dʒɪ/ helps precision.
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