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
Some, like the rapper, passed with flying colors, while others weren't sure what to make of the non sequitur.
—
Amaris Encinas, USA Today, 11 Nov. 2025
Tracy’s dialogue, though absent the staccato non sequiturs of the director’s earlier work, has a bracing nastiness; every visual flourish and every menacing thrum of the score, by Jerskin Fendrix, escalates the intensity of Stone and Plemons’s bravura showdown.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025
Either way, a focus on central banks amid bad policy is a non sequitur precisely due to the fact that when economic policy is good, money in circulation is plentiful without regard to what central banks do.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2025
Long before Neeson would inherit the detective badge and a full clip of non sequiturs, Paramount announced Ed Helms would be taking on the Drebin role in 2013 with writers behind the Night at the Museum movies providing a script to revitalize the Naked Gun franchise.
—Chris Lee, Vulture, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for non sequitur
Amaris Encinas, USA Today, 11 Nov. 2025
Tracy’s dialogue, though absent the staccato non sequiturs of the director’s earlier work, has a bracing nastiness; every visual flourish and every menacing thrum of the score, by Jerskin Fendrix, escalates the intensity of Stone and Plemons’s bravura showdown.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025
Either way, a focus on central banks amid bad policy is a non sequitur precisely due to the fact that when economic policy is good, money in circulation is plentiful without regard to what central banks do.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2025
Long before Neeson would inherit the detective badge and a full clip of non sequiturs, Paramount announced Ed Helms would be taking on the Drebin role in 2013 with writers behind the Night at the Museum movies providing a script to revitalize the Naked Gun franchise.
—Chris Lee, Vulture, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for non sequitur
Recent Examples of Synonyms for non sequitur
Noun
-
June 21 – July 22 Wandering down conversational tangents will be especially tempting today.—
Tarot.com,
New York Daily News,
31 Mar. 2026
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The original investigation spawned two main tangents involving Becciu, once a leading Vatican cardinal and future papal contender.—
NICOLE WINFIELD THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
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This is why all the whining and complaining from small market teams across the sport is manipulative nonsense.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
17 Apr. 2026
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Or from whatever this risibly self-serious metaphysical nonsense about performance and possession, creation and exorcism, aims to be.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
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But use of the six pods, arranged in a triple-bunk style layout between cabins, will put fliers in close proximity to others, prompting the airline to publish etiquette notes.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
17 Apr. 2026
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Elsewhere, a sunlit atrium is visible from a bunk room, as well as the guest apartment’s living and dining areas.—
Demetrius Simms,
Robb Report,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Gleefully ludicrous and committed to its own absurdity, this ensemble comedy earns every outrageous laugh.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
16 Apr. 2026
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One takes a scathing look at the absurdities of the American healthcare industry, while the other reinforces the season’s nature-out-of-balance themes.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Non sequitur.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/non%20sequitur. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
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