Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

a priori

/ˌɑ pɹiˈoɹi/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 2.78 in modern English

Syllables: a pri-ori
IPA: /ˌɑ pɹiˈoɹi/

9

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Self-evident, intuitively obvious.

adj

Presumed without analysis.

adj

Based on hypothesis and theory rather than experiment or empirical evidence.

adj

Developed entirely from scratch, without deriving it from existing languages.

adv

In a way based on theoretical deduction rather than empirical observation.

Example Sentences

"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."

Etymology

First attested in 1610. Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin ā priōrī (“involving reasoning from cause to effect; from first principles”, literally “from the former”).

Origin

First known use: First attested in 1610

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˌɑ pɹiˈoɹi/
British English: /ˌɑː pɹiˈɔːɹi/

Inflected Forms

more a priori (comparative) most a priori (superlative) apriori (alternative)

Derived Forms

apriorism apriorist aprioristic apriority

Phrases

a fortiori ex ante

Frequently Paired Words

a fortiori ex ante

Synonyms

deductively[Appendix:Glossary deductive

Antonyms

a posteriori inductively

Rhymes With

story tall story glory japanese morning glory tory rory corey storey cory dory gory curie

Questions

How do you pronounce a priori?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌɑ pɹiˈoɹi/.
What does a priori mean?: Self-evident, intuitively obvious.
Where does a priori come from?: First known use: First attested in 1610.

How to pronounce a priori

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “a priori”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌɑ pɹiˈoɹi/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “a priori” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.