Phrase guide

modus tollendo tollens

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

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Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A valid form of argument in which the antecedent of a conditional proposition is infirmed, thereby entailing the infirmation of the consequent. Modus tollendo tollens has the form

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: human-sciences, logic, mathematics, philosophy, sciences

Examples

  • 1. If non-P, then non-Q.
  • 2. non-P.
  • 3. Therefore, non-Q.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin modus tollendō tollēns (roughly, “mode where infirming infirms”).