as in tangent
a statement that is not connected in a logical or clear way to anything said before it
We were talking about the new restaurant when she threw in some non sequitur about her dog.
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Recent Examples of non sequitur
The non sequitur sends Grace into arpeggios of laughter, but once Dylan is out of earshot, Grace discloses to me that she’s begun to regard Dylan as one of her own children.
—
Barrett Swanson, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025
Economists were trafficking in non sequitur while at the same time glossing over the fact that work divided looms largest on prices.
—John Tamny, Forbes, 15 Dec. 2024
The ornery character actor Richard Kind is his announcer, barking non sequiturs from behind a podium.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 7 Apr. 2025
Because this performance more easily could prove a non sequitur as revealing in any way.
—Vahe Gregorian, Kansas City Star, 28 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for non sequitur
Barrett Swanson, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025
Economists were trafficking in non sequitur while at the same time glossing over the fact that work divided looms largest on prices.
—John Tamny, Forbes, 15 Dec. 2024
The ornery character actor Richard Kind is his announcer, barking non sequiturs from behind a podium.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 7 Apr. 2025
Because this performance more easily could prove a non sequitur as revealing in any way.
—Vahe Gregorian, Kansas City Star, 28 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for non sequitur
Recent Examples of Synonyms for non sequitur
Noun
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Information, as a result, becomes abstracted into tangents.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
18 July 2025
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For nearly an hour, Trump rambled about multiple topics his administration has tackled so far, ranging from tariffs to transgender people in sports while veering into tangents about his previous legal battles and first administration.—
Lalee Ibssa,
ABC News,
14 July 2025
Noun
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While praised by real-life doctors for being one of the more accurate medical shows, Scrubs still made room for plenty of silly, lighthearted nonsense.—
James Mercadante,
EW.com,
21 July 2025
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In that case, this is a lot of nonsense over something that just won’t arise.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
19 July 2025
Noun
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Prosecutors said Garcia was asleep in the lower bunk when Lopez got on top of him and started to strangle him.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
8 July 2025
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Should officials have evacuated the low-lying areas near the Guadalupe River—including the bunks at Camp Mystic—on the afternoon of July 3rd, when the Austin/San Antonio office of the N.W.S. issued a flood watch?—
Jessica Winter,
New Yorker,
7 July 2025
Noun
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Amid the absurdity, the women slowly chip away at each other’s defences – finding unexpected friendship, meaning, and a strange kind of freedom.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
8 July 2025
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Understandably, a fury arose over this absurdity, but turns out there is a reason behind it all.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
3 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Non sequitur.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/non%20sequitur. Accessed 25 Jul. 2025.
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