modus tollens
"modus-tollens" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“modus tollens” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A valid form of argument in which the consequent of a conditional proposition is denied, thus implying the denial of the antecedent. Modus tollens has this form
Corpus desk
Index EN-modus-tollens · modus tollens · English
modus tollens · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 13 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "M" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | modus tollens |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “modus tollens” in English
Rare enough to double-check
modus tollens is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A valid form of argument in which the consequent of a conditional proposition is denied, thus implying the denial of the antecedent. Modus tollens has this form".
No misspelling variants are generated for modus tollens in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin modus tollendō tollēns (“the mode where the denying denies”), from modus (“mode”) and forms of tollō (“I take away”). The correct English form is modus tollens, spelled M-O-D-U-S- -T-O-L-L-E-N-S.
Definition
- 1A valid form of argument in which the consequent of a conditional proposition is denied, thus implying the denial of the antecedent. Modus tollens has this form
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how modus tollens appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
1. If P, then Q.
3. Therefore, not P.
Etymology
From Latin modus tollendō tollēns (“the mode where the denying denies”), from modus (“mode”) and forms of tollō (“I take away”).
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.