material implication

noun

, Logic.

1. equivalence ( def 4a ).

material implication

noun

1. the truth-functional connective that forms a compound sentence from two given sentences and assigns the value false to it only when its antecedent is true and its consequent false, without consideration of relevance; loosely corresponds to the English if … then
2. a compound sentence formed with this connective

Word History and Origins

Origin of material implication¹

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

I closed my eyes and went over the propositional calculus, trying to visualize the truth tables for conjunction, disjunction, equivalence, and material implication.

From Literature