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non sequitur

[non sek-wi-ter, -too r; Latin nohn se-kwi-too r]
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noun
  1. Logic. an inference or a conclusion that does not follow from the premises.
  2. a statement containing an illogical conclusion.
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Origin of non sequitur

< Latin: it does not follow
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

falsehooddeceptionmisinterpretationuntruthheresyparadoxinconsistencycavilperversiondelusionmiscalculationbiascasuistryartificeevasionaberrationambiguityprejudicedeviationflaw

Examples from the Web for non sequitur

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • By parity of non-sequitur, we are, therefore, to surrender the active is building.

    The Verbalist

    Thomas Embly Osmun, (AKA Alfred Ayres)

  • In the first place, the concluding sentence of the quotation is a non-sequitur.

    Social Value

    B. M. Anderson

  • Gallatins countenance brightened, and he said in a tone of perfect good humor, Thats a non-sequitur.

  • Gallatin's face brightened, and he said in a tone of perfect good-humor, 'That's a non-sequitur.'

  • Was not that a rather desperate effort to sustain an argument by a non-sequitur?

British Dictionary definitions for non sequitur

non sequitur

noun
  1. a statement having little or no relevance to what preceded it
  2. logic a conclusion that does not follow from the premises
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Abbreviation: non seq

Word Origin

Latin, literally: it does not follow
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

Word Origin and History for non sequitur

Latin, literally "it does not follow."

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
non sequitur in Culture

non sequitur

[(non sek-wuh-tuhr)]

A thought that does not logically follow what has just been said: “We had been discussing plumbing, so her remark about astrology was a real non sequitur.” Non sequitur is Latin for “It does not follow.”

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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.