Word of the Day:

January 20, 2022

non sequitur

noun NAHN-SEK-wuh-ter

What it Means

A non sequitur is a statement that either does not logically follow from or is not clearly related to what was previously said.

// The host's non sequitur about the award recipient's unconventional dress did not go unnoticed by her fans on social media.

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Non sequitur in Context

"[Norm Macdonald] was always open about how much he worshipped David Letterman…. His impersonation of his idol on SNL … was sharp enough to turn some of Letterman's verbal quirks and repeated non sequiturs ('Ehh....got any gum?') into a spot-on impression." — Rolling Stone, 15 Sept. 2021

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Did You Know?

In Latin, non sequitur means "it does not follow." The phrase was borrowed into English in the 1500s by people who made a formal study of logic. For them, it meant a conclusion that does not follow from the statements that lead to it. But we now use non sequitur for any kind of statement that seems to come out of the blue.

Quiz

Fill in the blanks to complete a word for the act or an instance of speaking or writing about something that is different from the subject being discussed: d _ _ r _ _ _ _ on.

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