a priori
from a general law to a particular instance; valid independently of observation.: Compare a posteriori (def. 1).
existing in the mind prior to and independent of experience, as a faculty or character trait.: Compare a posteriori (def. 2).
not based on prior study or examination; nonanalytic: an a priori judgment.
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Origin of a priori
1Other words from a priori
- a·pri·or·i·ty [ey-prahy-awr-i-tee, -or-], /ˌeɪ praɪˈɔr ɪ ti, -ˈɒr-/, noun
Words that may be confused with a priori
- ad hoc, a posteriori, a priori , ex post facto, prima facie
Words Nearby a priori
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use a priori in a sentence
There’s no a priori reason why this should be pleasurable—the way other drives like hunger and thirst yield pleasure because they keep us alive.
We’re More of Ourselves When We’re in Tune with Others - Issue 104: Harmony | Kevin Berger | July 21, 2021 | NautilusScholars, if they be Christians at all, can have no possible a-priori objection to belief in the supernatural.
The Expositor's Bible: The Book of Daniel | F. W. FarrarThe vast majority of the interpretations have been simply due to a-priori prepossessions, which are arbitrary and baseless.
The Expositor's Bible: The Book of Daniel | F. W. FarrarBut, the conclusion once reached, he stood on it as an a-priori breathing-spot.
The Church of St. Bunco | Gordon ClarkHowever, it is impossible to arrive at a final definition of intelligence on the basis of a-priori considerations alone.
The Measurement of Intelligence | Lewis Madison Terman
Mind, again, as just a-priori principle and basis of all things, is manifestly their universal "Quality."
The Church of St. Bunco | Gordon Clark
British Dictionary definitions for a priori
/ (eɪ praɪˈɔːraɪ, ɑː prɪˈɔːrɪ) /
logic relating to or involving deductive reasoning from a general principle to the expected facts or effects
logic known to be true independently of or in advance of experience of the subject matter; requiring no evidence for its validation or support
statistics See prior probability, mathematical probability
Origin of a priori
1- Compare a posteriori, analytic (def. 4)
Derived forms of a priori
- apriority (ˌeɪpraɪˈɒrɪtɪ), noun
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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