Word.ws English Dictionary

non sequitur

UK/ˌnɒn ˈsɛk.wɪ.tə//ˌnɑn ˈsɛk.wɪ.tɚ/

non sequitur noun: any abrupt and inexplicable transition or occurrence.

Noun

non sequitur (plural non sequiturs or non sequuntur)

  1. Any abrupt and inexplicable transition or occurrence.
    • Having a costumed superhero abduct the vicar was an utter non sequitur in the novel.
    • Non sequiturs, gratuitous acts, frustrating ellipses, ambiguities, a dearth of emotion: Miss [Lillian] Hellman avails herself of all these current techniques in telling a story that she keeps telling us may not be a story at all.1980 May 13, Anatole Broyard, “Books of The Times”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
  2. Any invalid argument in which the conclusion cannot be logically deduced from the premises.
    Synonyms:
    fallacy
    Antonyms:
    sequitur
  3. A statement that does not logically follow a statement that preceded it.
    • Ralph Wiggum is generally employed as a bottomless fount of glorious non sequiturs, but in “I Love Lisa” he stands in for every oblivious chump who ever deluded himself into thinking that with persistence, determination, and a pure heart he can win the girl of his dreams.2012 August 5, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “I Love Lisa” (season 4, episode 15; originally aired 02/11/1993)”, in AV Club
  4. A kind of pun that uses a change of word, subject, or meaning to make a joke of the listener’s expectation.

non sequitur meaning in Tamil and Kannada

non sequitur in Tamil

பொருத்தமில்லா தருக்கமுடிவு

non sequitur in Kannada

ತರ್ಕರಹಿತ ನಿರ್ಣಯ, ತರ್ಕರಹಿತ ತೀರ್ಮಾನ, ತರ್ಕಕ್ಕೆ ವಿರುದ್ಧವಾದುದು

Synonyms of non sequitur

Antonyms

Forms of non sequitur

pluralnon sequiturs
pluralnon sequuntur
alternative formnon-sequitur
alternative formnonsequitur

Origin of non sequitur

Learned borrowing from Latin nōn sequitur (literally “it does not follow”).

Words formed from non sequitur

Questions about non sequitur

What does non sequitur mean?
Non sequitur means any abrupt and inexplicable transition or occurrence.
What is non sequitur in Tamil?
Non sequitur in Tamil is பொருத்தமில்லா தருக்கமுடிவு. See Non sequitur meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is non sequitur?
Non sequitur is a noun.
How do you pronounce non sequitur?
Non sequitur is pronounced /ˌnɒn ˈsɛk.wɪ.tə/ (UK).
What is the plural of non sequitur?
The plural of non sequitur is non sequiturs.

Words near non sequitur in the dictionary

  1. non placets
  2. non possumus
  3. non prosequitur
  4. non sequitor
  5. non sequitous
  6. non sequitur
  7. non sequituri
  8. non sequiturs
  9. non sequuntur
  10. non serviam
  11. non state actor

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: non sequitur (page history and authors); non sequitur (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); non sequitur (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-non sequitur.ogg, en-au-non sequitur.ogg.

Cite this entry: “non sequitur.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/non_sequitur. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.