epistemic
- 1Relating to knowledge or cognition, including its scope and how it is acquired; relating to epistemology, the study of knowledge.
Philosophers separate epistemic questions about what we can know from questions about what actually exists.
When every side has its own facts, a democracy faces an epistemic problem as well as a political one.
UsageNear epistemological, but epistemic is usual for states, reasons and duties, and in public talk of an epistemic crisis.
Similarepistemological
Oppositenonepistemic
Note
Philosophers use it to keep questions about what we know, and how we know it, apart from questions about what is true or what exists: a false belief can still be epistemically justified.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Epistemic justification and truth are distinct conditions. iep.utm.edu
- Questions about what exists concern ontology. en.wikipedia.org
- A false belief can be epistemically justified. openstax.org
- 2Relating to the ways language expresses knowledge or cognition.
Modal verbs such as might and must often carry an epistemic meaning, signaling how confident the speaker is.
The study compares epistemic markers in English and Japanese conversation.
Oppositedeontic
Note
In linguistics it names one kind of modality: how sure a speaker is that something is true. Must is epistemic in "She must be home by now", a conclusion drawn from evidence, but deontic in "You must be home by ten", an obligation. Words such as probably, apparently and might do the same epistemic work, and languages differ in how they mark it.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
- Epistemic modality concerns knowledge, belief and confidence in a proposition. en.wikipedia.org
- Must can express an epistemic conclusion drawn from evidence, as in the example supplied. iep.utm.edu
- Must can express a deontic obligation, as in the example supplied. en.wikipedia.org
- Probably, apparently and might can express epistemic meanings. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Languages use different lexical and grammatical means to express epistemic modality. en.wikipedia.org
Use it in a sentence
Write your own sentence with epistemic, and AI will tell you whether it fits and which meaning you used.
Origin
From Ancient Greek ἐπιστήμη (epistḗmē, "knowledge; science") + the English adjective suffix -ic. Epistḗmē comes from ἐπίσταμαι (epístamai, "to know"), built from epi- "on, on top of" and ἵστημι (hístēmi, "to stand"), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- "to stand".
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
- Epistemic is formed from Ancient Greek ἐπιστήμη, meaning "knowledge; science", and the English adjective suffix -ic. en.wiktionary.org
- Epistḗmē derives from ἐπίσταμαι, meaning "to know". en.wiktionary.org
- Ἐπίσταμαι is built from epi-, meaning "on, on top of", and ἵστημι, meaning "to stand". en.wiktionary.org
- Ἵστημι ultimately derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *steh₂-. en.wiktionary.org
- Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- means "to stand". en.wiktionary.org