Main Entry: re·duc·tio ad ab·sur·dum

Pronunciation: \ri-ˈdək-tē-ˌō-ˌad-əb-ˈsər-dəm, -ˈdək-sē-ō-, -shē-, -ˈzər-\

Function: noun

Etymology: Late Latin, literally, reduction to the absurd

Date: 1741

1 : disproof of a proposition by showing an absurdity to which it leads when carried to its logical conclusion
2 : the carrying of something to an absurd extreme