[ri-duhk-tee-oh ad ab-sur-duh
m, -zur-, -shee-oh] 
| a reduction to an absurdity; the refutation of a proposition by demonstrating the inevitably absurd conclusion to which it would logically lead. |
| re·duc·ti·o ad ab·sur·dum (rĭ-dŭk'tē-ō ād əb-sûr'dəm, -zûr'-, -shē-ō) n. pl. re·duc·ti·o·nes ad absurdum (-ō'nēz, -nās) Disproof of a proposition by showing that it leads to absurd or untenable conclusions. [Medieval Latin reductiō ad absurdum : Latin reductiō, a bringing back, reduction + Latin ad, to + Latin absurdum, absurdity, from neuter of absurdus, absurd.] |
reductio ad absurdum
(Latin: "reduction to absurdity"), in logic, a form of refutation showing contradictory or absurd consequences following upon premises as a matter of logical necessity. A form of the reductio ad absurdum argument, known as indirect proof or reductio ad impossibile, is one that proves a proposition by showing that its denial conjoined with other propositions previously proved or accepted leads to a contradiction. In common speech the term reductio ad absurdum refers to anything pushed to absurd extremes.
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