noun · 8 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/mɛtəˈfɪzɪks/
mĕ'təfĭziks
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:M EH2 T AH0 F IH1 Z IH0 K S
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The branch of philosophy which studies fundamental principles intended to describe or explain all that is, and which are not themselves explained by anything more fundamental; the study of first principles; the study of being insofar as it is being (Latin: ens in quantum ens).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
Topics: human-sciences, philosophy, sciences
Examples
Philosophers sometimes say that metaphysics is the study of the ultimate nature of the universe.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
The view or theory of a particular philosopher or school of thinkers concerning the first principles which describe or explain all that is.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable
Topics: human-sciences, philosophy, sciences
Examples
The metaphysics of Thomas Aquinas holds that all real beings have both essence and existence.
In Aristotelian metaphysics physical objects have both form and matter.
In his Pensées, Pascal mentioned some first principles recognized within his metaphysics: space, time, motion, and number.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
The metalogic of physics; the logical framework of physics.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Even other universes should be a result of different physics. Without rules, these universes wouldn't exist, because they will have an undefined, thus impossible, nature. We will never understand or guess all possible forms of physics. That's why we have to understand the generic metaphysics.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
Any fundamental principles or rules.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
The study of a supersensual realm or of phenomena which transcend the physical world.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
Examples
I have a collection of books on metaphysics, covering astral projection, reincarnation, and communication with spirits.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
noun
Meaning 6
Displeasingly abstruse, complex material on any subject.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: derogatory, uncountable
Examples
This political polemic strikes me as a protracted piece of overwrought, fog-shrouded metaphysics!
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
7
noun
Meaning 7
plural of metaphysic
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: form-of, plural
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
8
noun
Meaning 8
the philosophical study of being and knowing
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: philosophy
Narrower terms: ontology, cosmology
History
Etymology
1560s; plural of metaphysic, from Middle English methaphesik, methaphisik, methaphisique, metaphesyk, methafisik, metaphesyk, methephysyk, from Old French metafisique, methaphisique and Medieval Latin metaphysica, methephisica, from Byzantine Greek μεταφυσικά (metaphusiká), from the title of the collection by Aristotle μετὰ τὰ φυσικά (metà tà phusiká, “Following The Natural World”), a collection that comes after (μετά (metá)) Aristotle's collection entitled τὰ φυσικά (tà phusiká, “The Natural World”), from φυσικός (phusikós, “natural”). By surface analysis, meta- + physics.
Across languages
Translations
52 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
مِيتَافِيزِيقَا
(mītāfīzīqā)
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Arabic:
مَا وَرَاءَ الطَّبِيعِيَّات
(mā warāʔa ṭ-ṭabīʕiyyāt)
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Armenian:
բնազանցություն
(bnazancʻutʻyun)
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Armenian:
մետաֆիզիկա
(metafizika)
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Bulgarian:
метафи́зика
(metafízika)
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Catalan:
metafísica
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Chinese Mandarin:
形而上學 /形而上学
(xíng'érshàngxué)
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Chinese Mandarin:
形上
(xíngshàng)
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Czech:
metafyzika
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Danish:
metafysik
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Dutch:
metafysica
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Esperanto:
metafiziko
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Finnish:
metafysiikka
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Galician:
metafísica
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
German:
Metaphysik
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Greek:
μεταφυσική
(metafysikí)
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Gujarati:
તત્ત્વમીમાંસા
(tattvamīmā̃sā)
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Hindi:
तत्त्वमीमांसा
(tattvamīmānsā)
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Hindi:
आत्मविद्या
(ātmavidyā)
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Hungarian:
metafizika
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Icelandic:
frumspeki
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Ido:
metafiziko
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Indonesian:
metafisika
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Interlingua:
metaphysica
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Irish:
meitifisic
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Japanese:
形而上学
(keijijōgaku)
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Khmer:
បរមត្ថវិជ្ជា
(pakrakmat vityea)
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Khmer:
អស្តិរូបវិជ្ជា
(ɑhsdə ruup viccie)
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Korean:
형이상학
(hyeong'isanghak)
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Latin:
metaphysica
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Latvian:
metafizika
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Macedonian:
метафи́зика
(metafízika)
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Norwegian Bokmål:
metafysikk
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Norwegian Nynorsk:
metafysikk
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Occitan:
metafisica
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Polish:
metafizyka
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Portuguese:
metafísica
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Russian:
метафи́зика
(metafízika)
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Scots:
metapheisics
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Slovak:
metafyzika
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Slovene:
metafizika
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Spanish:
metafísica
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Swahili:
metafizikia
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Swedish:
metafysik
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Tagalog:
labawsugnayan
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Thai:
อภิปรัชญา
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Turkish:
metafizik
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Turkish:
mabaduttabiyye
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Ukrainian:
метафі́зика
(metafízyka)
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Vietnamese:
siêu hình học
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Walloon:
metafizike
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
Yiddish:
מעטאַפֿיזיק
(metafizik)
— branch of philosophy that studies first principles
