corollary

noun

cor·ol·lary | \ ˈkȯr-ə-ˌler-ē

, ˈkär-, -le-rē, British kə-ˈrä-lə-rē\

plural corollaries

Definition of corollary

1 : a proposition (see proposition entry 1 sense 1c) inferred immediately from a proved proposition with little or no additional proof

2a : something that naturally follows : result … love was a stormy passion and jealousy its normal corollary.— Ida Treat

b : something that incidentally or naturally accompanies or parallels A corollary to the problem of the number of vessels to be built was that of the types of vessels to be constructed.— Daniel Marx

Other Words from corollary Synonyms & Antonyms The Origin and Evolution of Corollary More Example Sentences Learn More about corollary

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The Origin and Evolution of Corollary

Corollary comes from the Late Latin noun corollarium, which can be translated as "a garland given as a reward." "Corollarium" comes from the Latin corolla, meaning "small crown or garland." If you know that a garland or small crown was sometimes given to actors in addition to their pay, it makes sense that another sense of "corollarium" is "gratuity." Later, "corollarium" developed the philosophical sense of a supplementary proposition that follows directly from one that has been proved. (You can think of a corollary as a "bonus" that follows from the proof of something else.) The broader modern sense, "something that naturally follows," evolved from the philosophical one.

Examples of corollary in a Sentence

one corollary of the rise of television was a massive makeover of radio's programming increased taxes—or expanding deficits—are the inevitable corollary to any new government spending program

Recent Examples on the Web

Australian actress Sarah Snook plays Shiv Roy, the brainy but passed-over-because-she’s-female daughter that is seen as a close corollary to Murdoch’s second child, Elisabeth. — Ben Widdicombe, Town & Country, "Confirmed: Yes, Rupert Murdoch's Family Enjoys Watching "Succession"," 8 Apr. 2019 And just like their fictional analog, which faces stiff competition from tech giant Hooli, WaveOne’s six-person team fears its toughest test could be competing against what some argue is Hooli’s real-life corollary: Alphabet’s Google. — Recode Staff, Recode, "Recode Daily: Learning to love robots," 20 Nov. 2018 Adjacent to Picture Room, Salter House operates as a metaphorical corollary as well. — Chloe Schama, Vogue, "Brooklyn’s Salter House Is Full of Covetable Home Goods, from Walnut Wood Spoons to Hand-Crafted Brooms," 6 Sep. 2018 There was also a corollary between a silent movie vixen trying to survive in a talkies world. — Julie Kosin, Harper's BAZAAR, "American Gods Star Yetide Badaki on Finding Bilquis and That Sex Scene," 1 May 2017 The sometimes explicit corollary was that white people were the natural rulers of the globe. — Kainaz Amaria, Vox, "National Geographic’s November cover falls back on a racist cliché," 1 Nov. 2018 The president himself has embraced the corollary idea to Coulter’s claim that the screaming families are actors: that the compassion for them is misplaced. — Megan Garber, The Atlantic, "How to Look Away," 20 June 2018 That is because the corollary of dollar dominance is dollar dependence. — The Economist, "America must use sanctions cautiously," 19 May 2018 Is this dopamine reward reaction the mouse corollary of human in-group recognition? — Leslie Henderson, Scientific American, "Why Our Brains See the World as "Us" versus "Them"," 22 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'corollary.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.