Adjective: a priori ,ey,prI'or-ee
- Involving deductive reasoning from a general principle to a necessary effect; not supported by fact
"an a priori judgment"
- Based on hypothesis or theory rather than experiment
"The philosopher's a priori argument didn't require empirical evidence"
- Derived by logic, without observed facts
"The mathematician made a priori assumptions about the nature of space"
See also: analytic, analytical, deductive, theoretic [rare], theoretical
Antonym: a posteriori
Encyclopedia: A priori