reductio ad absurdum

American  

[ri-duhk-tee-oh ad ab-sur-duhm, -zur-, -shee-oh] / rɪˈdʌk tiˌoʊ ˈæd æbˈsɜr dəm, -ˈzɜr-, -ʃiˌoʊ /

noun

Logic.

1. a reduction to an absurdity; the refutation of a proposition by demonstrating the inevitably absurd conclusion to which it would logically lead.

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reductio ad absurdum British  

/ rɪˈdʌktɪəʊ æd æbˈsɜːdəm /

noun

1. a method of disproving a proposition by showing that its inevitable consequences would be absurd

2. a method of indirectly proving a proposition by assuming its negation to be true and showing that this leads to an absurdity

3. application of a principle or proposed principle to an instance in which it is absurd

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Etymology

Origin of reductio ad absurdum

First recorded in 1735–45, reductio ad absurdum is from Latin reductiō ad absurdum

Example Sentences

So what did I think of originalism after living a reductio ad absurdum version of it for a year?

From Slate • May 8, 2024

Ross provides a reductio ad absurdum for a quiet digital-age truth: A sprinkling of coveted intellectual property can allow a shrewd company to punch well above its weight.

From Washington Post • Jul. 30, 2021

It’s the reductio ad absurdum of Neumann’s “capitalist kibbutz”: Everyone is deserving of “growth,” but some are apparently more deserving than others.

From New York Times • Oct. 21, 2020

You could say this reductio ad absurdum left Grassi shelled.

From Scientific American • Jul. 15, 2020

They indulge as well in reductio ad absurdum, the logical practice of taking any premise to an extreme, and in various sorts of combinatorial word play.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos