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# defeasible

adjective (defeasible; not compared)

«defeasible» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

(formal, law, logic) Defeasible means able to be cancelled or overturned, for example a right, a contract or a conclusion that may be undone by new facts. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/defeasible/#m1)

### In the lessons

A rare scholarly word. In law, a defeasible right can be taken away if a condition happens. In logic and thinking skills, a defeasible conclusion is a good guess that new evidence could overturn: «Birds fly, so Tweety flies» — unless we learn Tweety is a penguin. It reminds us that many everyday conclusions are «true unless shown otherwise».

### Examples

- «Tweety is a bird, so Tweety flies» is a defeasible conclusion. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/defeasible/#x1)
- The judge said the agreement was defeasible. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/defeasible/#x2)
- Most everyday reasoning is defeasible: new facts can change our minds. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/defeasible/#x3)
- The family's right to the land was defeasible if they stopped farming it. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/defeasible/#x4)
- A scientist's theory is defeasible if a better experiment shows it wrong. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/defeasible/#x5)
- The rule is defeasible: there are exceptions. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/defeasible/#x6)

### Note

Very formal and rare. Opposite: indefeasible (cannot be taken away). Pronounced «dih-FEE-zuh-bul». Not related to «defeat» in meaning, though the two words share an old root.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «defeasible» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/defeasible/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«defeasible» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/defeasible.html) on Mova free.