apagoge means an indirect argument which proves a thing by showing the impossibility or absurdity of the contrary. It carries an Arena rating of 1540, earned across 2 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, apagoge ranks #1,000 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #2,867 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #2,894 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #4,701 of 17,151 for The Improbable.
apagoge is pronounced /ˈæ.pə.ɡəʊ.d͡ʒi/.
Why “apagoge” is a great word
A form of proof that establishes a proposition by demonstrating the impossibility or absurdity of its opposite. Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀπαγωγή (apagōgḗ, "a leading away, reduction"). Unlike epagoge, which builds upward from particulars to a general law, or the broad logical maneuver of reductio ad absurdum, apagoge is the specific, elegant act of cornering truth by herding its contrary toward a precipice. It is the geometrician forcing a line to betray its own irrational length, the philosopher dismantling an injustice by following its premises to their cruel and logical end, and the quiet, internal victory when a cherished fear, pursued to its conclusion, dissolves into nonsense—a path walked only to prove that no sane mind would ever choose it.
Etymology
Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀπαγωγή (apagōgḗ).
noun
- An indirect argument which proves a thing by showing the impossibility or absurdity of the contrary.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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