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View synonyms for a priori

a priori

[ ey prahy-awr-ahy, -ohr-ahy, ey pree-awr-ee, -ohr-ee, ah pree-awr-ee, -ohr-ee ]

adjective

  1. from a general law to a particular instance; valid independently of observation. Compare a posteriori ( def 1 ).
  2. existing in the mind prior to and independent of experience, as a faculty or character trait. Compare a posteriori ( def 2 ).
  3. not based on prior study or examination; nonanalytic:

    an a priori judgment.



a priori

/ ˌeɪpraɪˈɒrɪtɪ; ɑː prɪˈɔːrɪ; eɪ praɪˈɔːraɪ /

adjective

  1. logic relating to or involving deductive reasoning from a general principle to the expected facts or effects
  2. logic known to be true independently of or in advance of experience of the subject matter; requiring no evidence for its validation or support
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Derived Forms

  • apriority, noun
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Other Words From

  • a·pri·or·i·ty [ey-prahy-, awr, -i-tee, -, or, -], noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of a priori1

1645–55; < Latin: literally, from the one before. See a- 4, prior 1
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Word History and Origins

Origin of a priori1

C18: from Latin, literally: from the previous (that is, from cause to effect)
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Example Sentences

Scholars, if they be Christians at all, can have no possible a-priori objection to belief in the supernatural.

The vast majority of the interpretations have been simply due to a-priori prepossessions, which are arbitrary and baseless.

But, the conclusion once reached, he stood on it as an a-priori breathing-spot.

However, it is impossible to arrive at a final definition of intelligence on the basis of a-priori considerations alone.

Mind, again, as just a-priori principle and basis of all things, is manifestly their universal "Quality."

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