ad absurdum

[ ad ab-sur-duhm ]

adverb

1. to the point of absurdity.

ad absurdum

1. An argument whereby one seeks to prove one's position by pointing out the absurdity or foolishness of an opponent's position. Also, an argument carried to such lengths that it becomes silly or ridiculous. From Latin , meaning “to absurdity.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of ad absurdum¹

First recorded in 1650–60; from Latin: literally, “to (the) absurd”

Example Sentences

The former president's unintentionally comical strutting, boasting and chest-beating have been emulated ad absurdum by his male followers and right-wing militia supporters.

From Salon

So what did I think of originalism after living a reductio ad absurdum version of it for a year?

From Slate

Because IVF is popular with voters, donors and even legislators, so defending Alabama’s reductio ad absurdum decision would be political suicide.

From Seattle Times

The bizarre decision handed down last week by the Alabama Supreme Court, which ruled that frozen human embryos are people too, is the reductio ad absurdum of the antiabortion movement’s religious worship of the union of egg and sperm.

From Los Angeles Times

He seems to have viewed superdeterminism as a reductio ad absurdum proposition, which highlights the strangeness of quantum mechanics.

From Scientific American