Meanings
- natural sciencesA conjecture asserting that it is impossible to create paradoxes by time travel because the past cannot be changed.
Synonyms: Novikov self-consistency conjecture
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounA conjecture asserting that it is impossible to create paradoxes by time travel because the past cannot be changed.
Origin
Developed by Russian physicist Igor Dmitriyevich Novikov in the mid-1980s.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Novikov self-consistency principle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Novikov%20self-consistency%20principle
“Novikov self-consistency principle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Novikov%20self-consistency%20principle. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Novikov self-consistency principle,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Novikov%20self-consistency%20principle.
Source: Novikov self-consistency principle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.