Pronunciation: ri- ' d ə k-t ē - ˌ ō - ˌ ad- ə b- ' s ə r-d ə m, - ' d ə k-s ē - ō -, -sh ē -, - ' z ə r-
Function: noun
Etymology: Late Latin, literally, reduction to the absurd
Date: 1741
1 : disproof of a proposition by showing an absurdity to which it leads when carried to its logical conclusion
2 : the carrying of something to an absurd extreme