reductio ad absurdum

[ri-duhk-tee-oh ad ab-sur-duhm, -zur-, -shee-oh] Origin

re·duc·ti·o ad ab·sur·dum

[ri-duhk-tee-oh ad ab-sur-duhm, -zur-, -shee-oh]
noun Logic.
a reduction to an absurdity; the refutation of a proposition by demonstrating the inevitably absurd conclusion to which it would logically lead.

Origin:
1735–45; < Latin reductiō ad absurdum
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To reductio ad absurdum

00:10

00:09

00:08

00:07

00:06

00:05

00:04

00:03

00:02

00:01

Reductio ad absurdum has a plethora of syllables.
So is cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine. Does it mean:
a white, crystalline, water-insoluble, powerful high explosive, C3H6N6O6, used chiefly in bombs and shells.
the estimation of something as valueless (encountered mainly as an example of one of the longest words in the English language).
Collins
World English Dictionary
reductio ad absurdum (rɪˈdʌktɪəʊ æd æbˈsɜːdəm)
 
n
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
 
[Latin, literally: reduction to the absurd]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

reductio ad absurdum
1741, from L., lit. "reduction to the absurd."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

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.

Learn more about reductio ad absurdum with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT