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Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. An inference or conclusion that does not follow from the premises or evidence.
  2. n. A statement that does not follow logically from what preceded it.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. In law or logic, an inference or a conclusion which does not follow from the premises.

Wiktionary

  1. n. Any abrupt and inexplicable transition or occurrence.
  2. n. Any invalid argument in which the conclusion cannot be logically deduced from the premises; a logical fallacy.
  3. n. A statement that does not logically follow a statement that came before it.
  4. n. A kind of pun that uses a change of word, subject, or meaning to make a joke of the listener’s expectation.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. An inference which does not follow from the premises.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. a reply that has no relevance to what preceded it
  2. n. (logic) a conclusion that does not follow from the premises

Etymologies

  1. Latin nōn sequitur, it does not follow : nōn, not + sequitur, third person sing. present tense of sequī, to follow.

Examples

  • “That was such a complete non sequitur that Keisha could only look stupidly at her.”

    Fictionaut: Elephant in the City

  • “This pertains to the spurious allegations Duane Lindenaur made against me and the non sequitur of my happening to be in a cocktail lounge frequented by certain not respectable people when a police raid occurred.”

    The Big Nowhere

  • “I smiled vacuously at this non sequitur and held out my hand again for the key.”

    A Letter of Mary

  • “* 'Cum Clericus sic de crimine convictus degradetur, non sequitur aliapoe-na pro uno delicto, vel pluribus ante degradationem perpetratis.”

    Memoir Correspondence And Miscellanies

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Lists

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Comments

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  • ruzuzu Fewer tentacles, no doubt. Nov 21, 2010

  • reesetee Cuter, though, I'd wager. Nov 21, 2010

  • yarb It sounds like your latest spawn is an acolyte of Cthulhu, cb! Nov 21, 2010

  • reesetee I gather, then, that he hasn't quite mastered "non-sequitur" just yet. Nov 21, 2010

  • chained_bear It sounds like this: blrbth thrbl? Nmi-nmi-nm. Nov 19, 2010

  • reesetee *Now wonders what Chained Cub's vocabulary might sound like* Nov 19, 2010

  • milosrdenstvi @chained_bear: When young, I would always pronounce it "non se-KEE-ter"... Nov 18, 2010

  • jwjarvis he is hyper-verbal, spewing non sequiturs Oct 6, 2010

  • chained_bear One of the best things to hear a little tiny kid say. You know, when you can get them to play "repeat after me." Oct 27, 2008

  • thevirils Latin for "it does not follow." Oct 4, 2008

‘non sequitur’ has been looked up 2649 times, loved by 9 people, added to 62 lists, commented on 10 times, and is not a valid Scrabble word.