a posteriori

Also found in: Legal, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

a pos·te·ri·o·ri

 (ä′ pŏ-stîr′ē-ôr′ē, -ôr′ī, ā′)
adj.
1. Derived by or designating the process of reasoning from facts or particulars to general principles or from effects to causes; inductive; empirical.
2.
a. Justified by appeal to experience.
b. Knowable from experience.

[Medieval Latin ā posteriōrī : Latin ā, from + Latin posteriōrī, ablative of posterior, later.]

a′ pos·te′ri·o′ri adv.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

a posteriori

(eɪ pɒsˌtɛrɪˈɔːraɪ; -rɪ; ɑː)
adj
1. (Logic) relating to or involving inductive reasoning from particular facts or effects to a general principle
2. (Logic) derived from or requiring evidence for its validation or support; empirical; open to revision
3. (Statistics) statistics See posterior probability
[C18: from Latin, literally: from the latter (that is, from effect to cause)]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

a pos•te•ri•o•ri

(ˌeɪ pɒˌstɪər iˈɔr aɪ, -ˈoʊr aɪ, -ˈɔr i, -ˈoʊr i)
adj.
1. from particular instances to a general principle or law; based on observation or experiment. Compare a priori (def. 1).
2. not existing in the mind prior to or apart from experience.
[1615–25; < Latin: literally, from the one behind]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

a posteriori

the process of reasoning from effect to cause, based upon observation.
See also: Logic
-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adj.1.a posteriori - involving reasoning from facts or particulars to general principles or from effects to causes; "a posteriori demonstration"
synthetical, synthetic - of a proposition whose truth value is determined by observation or facts; "`all men are arrogant' is a synthetic proposition"
inductive - of reasoning; proceeding from particular facts to a general conclusion; "inductive reasoning"
a priori - involving deductive reasoning from a general principle to a necessary effect; not supported by fact; "an a priori judgment"
2.a posteriori - requiring evidence for validation or support
empirical, empiric - derived from experiment and observation rather than theory; "an empirical basis for an ethical theory"; "empirical laws"; "empirical data"; "an empirical treatment of a disease about which little is known"
Adv.1.a posteriori - derived from observed facts
a priori - derived by logic, without observed facts
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
a posteriorià postériori

a posteriori

[ˈeɪpɒsˌterɪˈɔːraɪ] ADJ & ADVa posteriori
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

a posteriori

adva posteriori
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
References in periodicals archive
Investigating the interplay of a priori and a posteriori points of view in metaphysics, scholars of philosophy focus on the ontology of space and time.
In a second section of Disputation 29, Suarez asks whether it can be shown in an a posteriori way that.
Suarez claims, nonetheless, that once the existence of God has been demonstrated a posteriori, it is possible to demonstrate the unicity of God in an a priori manner, although he concedes that it is not easy to do so.
Copyright © 2003-2025 Farlex, Inc Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.