ideological

ideological — adjective

1. relating to the core beliefs and principles that shape how a group views society

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

relating to the core beliefs and principles that shape how a group views society and politics

Example

The two parties have deep ideological differences on how to tax the public.

collocation: ideological differences

Romi left the volunteer group because of its rigid ideological stance on climate policy.

collocation: ideological stance

Common collocations
  • ideological differences
  • ideological divide
  • ideological battle
  • ideological stance
  • ideological commitment
  • ideological framework
  • ideological purity
  • ideological grounds
  • ideological split
Synonyms
  • political

    narrower in scope; focuses on governance and power rather than the full belief system

  • doctrinal

    more formal, typically tied to a specific official body of teaching (e.g. religious or party doctrine)

  • philosophical

    broader; can apply to abstract reasoning not tied to any group belief system

  • programmatic

    emphasises a practical agenda or action plan flowing from the beliefs

Antonyms
  • pragmatic

    focused on practical results rather than principles

  • apolitical

    not involved with or influenced by political ideology at all

Grammar Patterns

ideological + noun

be + ideological + about + noun/gerund

Usage Note

Attributive use (before a noun) is far more common than predicative use. Common noun partners include: differences, divide, battle, stance, belief, bias, commitment, framework, opposition.

Common Mistakes

Her views are too ideological for me to accept.
Her views are too idealistic for me to accept.
'ideological' describes a system of beliefs; 'idealistic' means holding high or perfect principles that may be unrealistic.

Word family

  • ideology
    nounB2
  • ideologue
    nounC1
  • ideologically
    adverbC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

These words all connect to systems of ideas, but differ in scope and context. 'Ideological' refers to a broad set of shared beliefs that shape how a group interprets society — it is often used in political discussion but can apply to any organised worldview. 'Political' is narrower, focusing on governance, power, and public policy; not every ideological position is political (e.g. religious ideology may avoid politics). 'Doctrinal' is the most formal and specific — it names the official teachings of an institution, particularly in religion or party dogma, and carries a stricter, less flexible tone. 'Philosophical' is the broadest — it can cover abstract thought and personal worldviews that lack any group or institutional grounding. For example, a debate about tax policy is largely 'political', whereas the underlying assumptions about fairness that drive each side are 'ideological'. A church's position on charity is 'doctrinal', while an individual's personal reasons for giving may be purely 'philosophical'.

ideological ↗political ↗doctrinalphilosophical ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • ideological differences
  • ideological divide
  • ideological stance
  • ideological battle
  • ideological commitment
  • ideological framework
  • ideological purity
  • ideological grounds
  • ideological split
  • ideological conflict

Adverbs

  • purely ideological
  • deeply ideological
  • strictly ideological
  • broadly ideological

Phrases

  • on ideological grounds
  • for ideological reasons
  • from an ideological perspective

Etymology

GreekFrenchEnglish

The noun 'ideology' was coined in French as 'idéologie' in 1796 by the philosopher Destutt de Tracy, who used it to mean 'the science of ideas'. It combines the Greek roots 'idea' (form, pattern) and 'logos' (word, reason). The adjective 'ideological' emerged in English in the early 19th century as the word took on its modern meaning of a systematic body of beliefs shared by a group.