defeasible
Americanadjective
adjective
-
law (of an estate or interest in land) capable of being defeated or rendered void
-
philosophy (of a judgment, opinion, etc) having a presupposition in its favour but open to revision if countervailing evidence becomes known Compare incorrigible
Other Word Forms
- defeasibility noun
- defeasibleness noun
- nondefeasibility noun
- nondefeasible adjective
- nondefeasibleness noun
Etymology
Origin of defeasible
From the Anglo-French word defesible, dating back to 1580–90. See defeasance, -ible
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Science—the research programme, the experimental method, the interlocking of pure science and new technology, the language of defeasible knowledge—was invented between 1571 and 1704.
From Literature
The complex tapestry of riparian rights and “prior appropriation” legal doctrines could even be materially changed by the government applying a type of eminent domain to underlying acreage or defeasible water rights.
From Forbes
It must be of a thing defeasible, and all the conditions must be strictly carried out before the defeasance can be consummated.
From Project Gutenberg
Wotton’s ‘Tacit Reserve’, which is the principle that all scientific reasoning is defeasible, is of fundamental importance.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
