indirect proof
noun
1.
an argument for a proposition that shows its negation to be incompatible with a previously accepted or established premise.
Examples from the web for
indirect proof
Devise ways to verify results, using counterexamples and
indirect proof
.
Devise ways to verify results, using counterexamples and informal
indirect proof
.
One stated that the transfusion data were flawed, but that secular trend data provided
indirect proof
of efficacy.
British Dictionary definitions for
indirect proof
indirect proof
noun
1.
(
logic
,
maths
) proof of a conclusion by showing its negation to be self-contradictory; reductio ad absurdum
Compare
direct
(sense 17)