major premise

British

noun

logic the premise of a syllogism containing the predicate of its conclusion

"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

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.

“The major premise of this argument is fundamentally flawed,” the judge wrote, saying the constitution does not specify “restored to all civil rights.”

From Seattle Times • Dec. 15, 2023

Another major premise of Lucy is that if we were able to use more than 10 percent of the brain, we could unlock “secrets of the universe.”

From Slate • Jul. 22, 2014

A major premise of the book is that religion can’t really be replaced with nothing.

From Salon • Feb. 15, 2014

The Baruch optimism is based on one fundamental proposition�a major premise, which dominates the entire report.

From Time Magazine Archive

In problem solution, you have to find both of your premises, and often the minor premise is the first to be found and in turn recalls the appropriate major premise.

From Psychology A Study Of Mental Life by Woodworth, Robert S.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023