concerned with abstract thought or subjects, as existence, causality, or truth.
concerned with first principles and ultimate grounds, as being, time, or substance.
highly abstract, subtle, or abstruse.
designating or pertaining to the poetry of an early group of 17th-century English poets, notably John Donne, whose characteristic style is highly intellectual and philosophical and features intensive use of ingenious conceits and turns of wit.
Archaic. imaginary or fanciful.
Origin of metaphysical
1375–1425; late Middle English metaphisicalle<Medieval Latin metaphysicālis.See metaphysic, -al1
Along the way, the ship can get caught in “a whirlpool of unconstrained metaphysical nonsense.”
Your Guide to the Many Meanings of Quantum Mechanics - Facts So Romantic|Sabine Hossenfelder|September 3, 2020|Nautilus
He left the U.S., seeking a spiritual and metaphysical connection for his work elsewhere.
A Gay American Artist in Kaiser’s Berlin|Sarah Bay Williams|August 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I do not say a creation … Any preexistence of the universe has a metaphysical character.
Evangelicals Still Don’t Know What to Do With the Big Bang|Karl W. Giberson|March 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Things get metaphysical in one of the most masterful hours of television since ‘Breaking Bad.’
‘True Detective’ Episode 5 Review: ‘The Secret Fate of All Life’ is the Best Episode Yet|Andrew Romano|February 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So in episode five—not to spoil anything—Cohle gives one of his metaphysical addresses.
Inside the Obsessive, Strange Mind of True Detective’s Nic Pizzolatto|Andrew Romano|February 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A chapter on the metaphysical poets is four-fifths Donne to one-fifth Herbert, with Marvell failing to get a look-in.
John Sutherland‘s Enjoyable Little History of Literature|Malcolm Forbes|November 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST
"Mental science" and metaphysical speculation have had nothing to do with it.
The Wonders of Life|Ernst Haeckel
It has feeling; and there is something as divine in feeling, as in the most metaphysical meditation.
The Bible: what it is|Charles Bradlaugh
Only the great, the 'metaphysical mystery,' 'the unknowable essence of reality,' continues to chain him.
Life and Writings of Maurice Maeterlinck|Jethro Bithell
We submit further that our definition of science should be based on facts, and not framed to suit a metaphysical theory.
Evolution|Frank B. Jevons
Having determined the metaphysical point of view, the next question of vital importance is that of its principle.
International Congress of Arts and Science, Volume I|Various
British Dictionary definitions for metaphysical (1 of 2)
metaphysical
/ (ˌmɛtəˈfɪzɪkəl) /
adjective
relating to or concerned with metaphysics
(of a statement or theory) having the form of an empirical hypothesis, but in fact immune from empirical testing and therefore (in the view of the logical positivists) literally meaningless
(popularly) abstract, abstruse, or unduly theoretical
incorporeal; supernatural
Derived forms of metaphysical
metaphysically, adverb
British Dictionary definitions for metaphysical (2 of 2)
Metaphysical
/ (ˌmɛtəˈfɪzɪkəl) /
adjective
denoting or relating to certain 17th-century poets who combined intense feeling with ingenious thought and often used elaborate imagery and conceits. Notable among them were Donne, Herbert, and Marvell