a priori

a pri·o·ri  (ä pr-ôr, -r, pr-ôr, -r)

adj.

1. Proceeding from a known or assumed cause to a necessarily related effect; deductive.

2.

a. Derived by or designating the process of reasoning without reference to particular facts or experience.

b. Knowable without appeal to particular experience.

3. Made before or without examination; not supported by factual study.

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[Medieval Latin prir : Latin , from + Latin prir, ablative of prior, former.]

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a pri·ori adv.

a pri·ori·ty (-ôr-t, -r-) n.

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a priori [eh pry-or-rye]

Adjective

Logic involving reasoning from cause to effect [Latin: from the previous]

Thesaurus

Adj.	1.	a priori - involving deductive reasoning from a general principle to a necessary effect; not supported by fact; "an a priori judgment" analytical, analytic - of a proposition that is necessarily true independent of fact or experience; "`all spinsters are unmarried' is an analytic proposition" deductive - involving inferences from general principles a posteriori - involving reasoning from facts or particulars to general principles or from effects to causes; "a posteriori demonstration"
	2.	a priori - based on hypothesis or theory rather than experiment theoretic, theoretical - concerned primarily with theories or hypotheses rather than practical considerations; "theoretical science"
Adv.	1.	a priori - derived by logic, without observed facts a posteriori - derived from observed facts

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a priori

adjective deduced, deductive, inferential