a priori
from a general law to a particular instance; valid independently of observation.: Compare a posteriori (def. 1).
existing in the mind prior to and independent of experience, as a faculty or character trait.: Compare a posteriori (def. 2).
not based on prior study or examination; nonanalytic: an a priori judgment.
Origin of a priori
1Other words from a priori
- a·pri·or·i·ty [ey-prahy-awr-i-tee, -or-], /ˌeɪ praɪˈɔr ɪ ti, -ˈɒr-/, noun
Words that may be confused with a priori
- ad hoc, a posteriori, a priori , ex post facto, prima facie
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use a priori in a sentence
Scholars, if they be Christians at all, can have no possible a-priori objection to belief in the supernatural.
The Expositor's Bible: The Book of Daniel | F. W. FarrarThe vast majority of the interpretations have been simply due to a-priori prepossessions, which are arbitrary and baseless.
The Expositor's Bible: The Book of Daniel | F. W. FarrarBut, the conclusion once reached, he stood on it as an a-priori breathing-spot.
The Church of St. Bunco | Gordon ClarkHowever, it is impossible to arrive at a final definition of intelligence on the basis of a-priori considerations alone.
The Measurement of Intelligence | Lewis Madison TermanMind, again, as just a-priori principle and basis of all things, is manifestly their universal "Quality."
The Church of St. Bunco | Gordon Clark
British Dictionary definitions for a priori
/ (eɪ praɪˈɔːraɪ, ɑː prɪˈɔːrɪ) /
logic relating to or involving deductive reasoning from a general principle to the expected facts or effects
logic known to be true independently of or in advance of experience of the subject matter; requiring no evidence for its validation or support
statistics See prior probability, mathematical probability
Origin of a priori
1- Compare a posteriori, analytic (def. 4)
Derived forms of a priori
- apriority (ˌeɪpraɪˈɒrɪtɪ), noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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