a priori

Definitions

1. Self-evident, intuitively obvious.
2. Presumed without analysis.
3. Based on hypothesis and theory rather than experiment or empirical evidence.
4. Developed entirely from scratch, without deriving it from existing languages.

Equivalents

Examples

“In his opening argument, the student mentioned nothing beyond his a priori knowledge.”

“While the great critics drew their authority from the breadth of their reading, New Criterion critics often base⟳ their authority on an a priori rejection of the contemporary.”

“Conlangers can also create⟳ a priori languages, which have⟳ no basis in existing languages. You might be familiar with more a priori conlangs than you think⟳: The Klingon language from the television series “Star Trek,” the Na’vi language from the movie “Avatar,” and the Dothraki language from the television series “Game of Thrones” are all examples of a priori languages.”

CEFR level