ecological

ecological — adjective

1. relating to the way plants, animals, and other living things depend on each othe

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

relating to the way plants, animals, and other living things depend on each other and affect the air, water, and land around them

Example

The city council passed new ecological rules to protect the nearby forest area.

ecological + noun (rules)

Aiko's research group measured the ecological effects of plastic waste in the ocean.

ecological effects of [something]

Common collocations
  • ecological system
  • ecological balance
  • ecological damage
  • ecological impact
  • ecological footprint
  • ecological crisis
  • ecological diversity
Synonyms
  • environmental

    broader in meaning; covers both natural and human-made surroundings

  • natural

    less technical; refers to things not made or changed by humans, without the scientific focus on relationships between organisms

  • organic

    mainly used for food or farming methods without artificial chemicals; not interchangeable with 'ecological' in scientific contexts

Usage Note

Commonly used before a noun to describe natural systems, environmental policies, or human impacts on nature. Often appears in the fixed phrases 'ecological system,' 'ecological damage,' and 'ecological balance.'

Common Mistakes

The company improved its ecological.
The company improved its ecological practices.
'Ecological' is an adjective and must be followed by a noun, not used alone as a noun.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Although 'ecological,' 'environmental,' 'natural,' and 'organic' all relate to the physical world, they differ in scope and usage. 'Ecological' focuses on the scientific relationships between living organisms and their surroundings — for example, an 'ecological survey' examines how species interact within a habitat. 'Environmental' is the broadest term, covering anything in the surroundings (both natural and human-built), such as 'environmental policy' or 'environmental health.' 'Natural' refers to things existing without human intervention — a 'natural forest' is untouched by logging. 'Organic' is narrower: it describes living matter or agricultural products grown without synthetic chemicals. You can say 'organic vegetables' but not 'ecological vegetables' to mean the same thing. In academic writing, use 'ecological' when the focus is on system-level biological relationships; use 'environmental' for broader policy or health contexts.

environmental ↗natural ↗organic ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • ecological system
  • ecological balance
  • ecological damage
  • ecological footprint

Etymology

GreekGermanEnglish

The word 'ecology' was created in the 1800s from two Greek roots: 'oikos' (house or living space) and 'logos' (study). It first appeared in German as 'Oekologie' and later came into English as 'ecology.' The adjective 'ecological' formed shortly after to describe anything related to this field of study.