''non sequitur'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20260904134559-00-⌔

non sequitur - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

Noun

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non sequitur (plural non sequiturs or non sequuntur)

• (narratology) Any abrupt and inexplicable transition or occurrence.
  • ✤ Having a costumed superhero abduct the vicar was an utter non sequitur in the novel.
  • ✤ Non sequiturs, gratuitous acts, frustrating ellipses, ambiguities, a dearth of emotion: Miss[Lillian] Hellman avails herself of all these current techniques in telling a story that she keeps telling us may not be a story at all.¹
• (logic) Any invalid argument in which the conclusion cannot be logically deduced from the premises.
  • ✤ Synonym: fallacy
  • ✤ Antonym: sequitur
• A statement that does not logically follow a statement that preceded it.
  • ✤ Ralph Wiggum is generally employed as a bottomless fount of glorious non sequiturs, but in “I Love Lisa” he stands in for every oblivious chump who ever deluded himself into thinking that with persistence, determination, and a pure heart he can win the girl of his dreams.²
• (comedy) A kind of pun that uses a change of word, subject, or meaning to make a joke of the listener’s expectation.
  • ✤ Coordinate term: paraprosdokian

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin nōn sequitur (literally “it does not follow”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ˌnɒn ˈsɛk.wɪ.tə/
• (General American, dialects of Canada) IPA: /ˌnɑn ˈsɛk.wɪ.tɚ/
  • Audio (California); [ˌnɑn ˈsɛk.wɪ.ɾɚ]: 🔊
• (Canada, dialects of the US) IPA: /ˌnɒn ˈsɛk.wɪ.tɚ/
• (Australia) IPA: /ˌnɔn ˈsek.wɪ.tə/
  • Audio (Queensland): 🔊

Printed 2026-09-04.

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Footnotes

1. 1980 May 13, Anatole Broyard, “Books of The Times”, in The New York Times ‎${}^{[1]}$, →ISSN: ↩

2. 2012 August 5, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “I Love Lisa” (season 4, episode 15; originally aired 02/11/1993)”, in AV Club ‎${}^{[2]}$: ↩