metaphysical

meta·physi·cal (met′ə fiz′i kəl)

adjective

of, connected with, or having the nature of, metaphysics
very abstract, abstruse, or subtle: often a derogatory usage
beyond the physical or material; incorporeal, supernatural, or transcendental
designating or of the school of early 17th-cent. English poets, including esp. John Donne, George Herbert, Richard Crashaw, and Abraham Cowley, whose verse is characterized by very subtle, highly intellectualized imagery, sometimes deliberately fantastic and far-fetched

Etymology: ML metaphysicalis

met′a·phys′i·cally adverb

modif.

Modifies a noun

presupposition: Competing schools of thought possess differing procedures, theories, even metaphysical presuppositions.
speculation: He may not believe even in God, may not ask what his soul is, nor think of any metaphysical speculation.
subtlety: There is much more metaphysical subtlety in the word " damn " than in the word " degeneration.
assumption: Whatever metaphysical assumption has been made seems to be tested by the functioning of the combined law.
poet: Ralph Vaughan Williams composed his Five Mystical Songs in 1911 to texts by the metaphysical poet George Herbert.

Modifying Another Word

purely: In the language of philosophy, this is known as a purely metaphysical outlook which operates with immutable, non-historical, dogmatic concepts.
almost: On one side, pure science leads us away from nature toward a notional, almost metaphysical realm of particles.
not: The seven souls of man were not metaphysical " concepts " at any time in the past.
too: I obviously don't understand the sophistication. ' Secretary Cohen: ' The distinction should not be one that's too metaphysical to describe.
very: Thus, Parry is ' saying the Spencer thing but in very metaphysical terms ' .
also: Being both absolute and changeable, remote and immediate, physical but also metaphysical, the sky engages dynamically with the poet's solitude.

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