Definition of Non sequitur

1. Noun. A reply that has no relevance to what preceded it.

Generic synonyms: Reply, Response

2. Noun. (logic) a conclusion that does not follow from the premises.
Generic synonyms: Conclusion
Category relationships: Logic

Definition of Non sequitur

1. Noun. Any abrupt and inexplicable transition or occurrence. ¹

2. Noun. (logical fallacy) Any invalid argument in which the conclusion cannot be logically deduced from the premises; a logical fallacy. ¹

3. Noun. A statement that does not logically follow a statement that came before it. ¹

4. Noun. (context: humor) A kind of pun that uses a change of word, subject, or meaning to make a joke of the listener’s expectation. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Non Sequitur

non compos mentis(p)
non constat
non distributio medii
non divisi
non est factum
non est inventus
non liquet
non liquets
non obst.
non obstante
non obstantes
non partant
non partants
non pros
non prosequitur
non sequitur (current term)
non sequituri
non sequiturs
non sequuntur
non vult
nona-
nonabandoned
nonabdominal
nonabductive
nonabelian
nonability
nonabine
nonablated
nonablative
nonabnormal

Literary usage of Non sequitur

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. History of English Thought in the Eighteenth Century by William Randolph Hearst (1851)
"NON-SEQUITUR. There is a punning epigram by Dr. Donne which is false in its conclusion :— " I am unable," yonder beggar cries, " To stand or go. ..."

2. Fallacies: A View of Logic from the Practical Side by Alfred Sidgwick (1884)
"... of these departments is the only one that needs analysis in Logic* non sequitur is thus co-extensive with failure in the formal adequacy of the Reason. ..."

3. English Eccentrics and Eccentricities by John Timbs (1866)
"non sequitur AND THEREFORE. Lord Avonmore was subject to perpetual fits of absence of mind, and was frequently insensible to the ..."

4. Johannis Wyclif Tractatus de logica by John Wycliffe (1899)
"... non sequitur, si A in aliquo loco deest, quod in ilio loco non est. Non ergo sequitur: Aliquando non erit A; igitur in máximo tempore non erit A, ..."

5. A Budget of Paradoxes by Augustus De Morgan (1915)
"In fact, the argument is a perfect non sequitur.1 Those who propose it have in their minds, though in a cloudy and indefinite form, ..."

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