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entailment

/ɛnˈteɪlmənt/

IPA guide

Other forms: entailments

An entailment is a deduction or implication, that is, something that follows logically from or is implied by something else.

In logic, an entailment is the relationship between sentences whereby one sentence will be true if all the others are also true. Want a less-dry-sounding, real-life example? How about this: Being a good student, for instance, is an entailment of attending classes, learning the material, and keeping up with assignments. An old-fashioned definition of entailment is a set of limitations that restrict the ways property can be bequeathed to heirs.

Definitions of entailment
  1. noun
    something that is inferred (deduced or entailed or implied)
    synonyms: deduction, implication, inference
    see moresee less
    type of:
    illation, inference
    the reasoning involved in drawing a conclusion or making a logical judgment on the basis of circumstantial evidence and prior conclusions rather than on the basis of direct observation
  2. noun
    the act of entailing property; the creation of a fee tail from a fee simple
    synonyms: entail
    see moresee less
    type of:
    change
    the action of changing something
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