prescind

Prescind is a verb meaning to withdraw from consideration or to refrain from considering something. It denotes the act of separating a factor, issue, or line of thought from what is being discussed, so that it is not weighed in the conclusion. In practice, a decision or analysis may prescind from irrelevant details or prescind a matter to focus on core questions. The term is most common in formal, scholarly, or juridical writing, and is rarely used in casual speech.

Etymology: Prescind derives from Latin prescindere, from prae- 'before' and scindere 'to cut', literally to cut off beforehand. The word has retained the sense of excluding or diverting attention from a topic.

Usage notes: It is typically used with the preposition from (prescind from), or in participial form (prescinding from). It is an archaic or stylistically elevated term outside of specialized disciplines. It should not be confused with prescient or prescience, which pertain to foresight.

Examples: "When analyzing the data, we should prescind from the outliers." "The court prescinded from questions of procedural irregularity." "She prescinded from discussing personal matters." Past tense is prescinded; present participle prescinding.