Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Disproof of a proposition by showing that it leads to absurd or untenable conclusions.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A reduction to an absurdity; the proof of a proposition by proving tho falsity of its contradictory opposite: an indirect demonstration.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun mathematics, logic The method of proving a statement by assuming the statement is false and, with that assumption, arriving at a blatant
contradiction .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun (reduction to the absurd) a disproof by showing that the consequences of the proposition are absurd; or a proof of a proposition by showing that its negation leads to a contradiction
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[Medieval Latin reductiō ad absurdum : Latin reductiō, a bringing back, reduction + Latin ad, to + Latin absurdum, absurdity, from neuter of absurdus, absurd.]
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Examples
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mcgelligot commented on the word reductio ad absurdum
Reductio ad absurdum is proving something must be true because its negative is impossible.
November 14, 2008