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
-
And Bianco’s rhetoric about forcing changes in state law enforcement — especially on immigration — without the cooperation of Democratic supermajorities in the Legislature is authoritarian nonsense.—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 May 2026
-
There’s still all this nonsense about the temptation of the female body, and the need for nuns to shield themselves from prying eyes.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 May 2026
Noun
-
Ken Smith, an AT&T incident commander, pointed to the vehicles painted in AT&T’s bright blue—the display included trailers outfitted to accommodate kitchens, bunks, and showers—and the smaller array of vehicles in FirstNet black, most sprouting satellite receivers.—
Rob Pegoraro,
PC Magazine,
1 May 2026
-
Comey, of course, calls that bunk.—
Chris Brennan,
USA Today,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
As Akhavan speaks, the absurdity of reading the lilies as emblems of colonialism is impossible to ignore.—
Harrison Jacobs,
ARTnews.com,
6 May 2026
-
Church went to the Holy Land in search of sublimity; Twain fastened on the absurdities of those determined to find it.—
Sebastian Smee,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Non sequitur.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/non%20sequitur. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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