fallacy
[fal-uh-see]
- a deceptive, misleading, or false notion, belief, etc.: That the world is flat was at one time a popular fallacy.
- a misleading or unsound argument.
- deceptive, misleading, or false nature; erroneousness.
- Logic. any of various types of erroneous reasoning that render arguments logically unsound.
- Obsolete. deception.
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Origin of fallacy
1350–1400; < Latin fallācia a trick, deceit, equivalent to fallāc- (stem of fallāx) deceitful, fallacious + -ia -y3; replacing Middle English fallace < Middle French
Synonyms
See more synonyms for fallacy on Thesaurus.com1. misconception, delusion, misapprehension.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for fallacy
Contemporary Examples
In fact, what this map really showed was the fallacy of aggregates – and how statistics can mask real cultural shifts.
Every time the thermometer drops, another anti-science politician mocks climate change as a fallacy.
To prove the fallacy of said cargo cult, Olson goes into the numbers.
The many who believe that human knowledge begins in the academy are guilty of the fallacy of “lecturing birds on how to fly.”
A Manifesto for Disorder: Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s ‘Antifragile’ ReviewedRobert Herritt
November 26, 2012
Which brings me to the real point here: the entire premise of Mr. Rubin's moral question is built upon a fallacy.
Historical Examples
His want of success arose from the insufficiency, not the fallacy, of theory.
Tales And Novels, Volume 8 (of 10)Maria Edgeworth
Do not commit the fallacy of sitting down for a little rest.
The ForestStewart Edward White
There is no need of a long explanation to show the fallacy of this idea.
The Sexual QuestionAugust Forel
Godwin, in all this, reproduces the current fallacy of his generation.
Shelley, Godwin and Their CircleH. N. Brailsford
A few minutes served to convince her of the fallacy of this expectation.
Chronicles of Border WarfareAlexander Scott Withers
fallacy
- an incorrect or misleading notion or opinion based on inaccurate facts or invalid reasoning
- unsound or invalid reasoning
- the tendency to mislead
- logic an error in reasoning that renders an argument logically invalid
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Word Origin
C15: from Latin fallācia, from fallax deceitful, from fallere to deceive
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for fallacy
n.
late 15c., "deception, false statement," from Latin fallacia "deception," noun of quality from fallax (genitive fallacis) "deceptive," from fallere "deceive" (see fail (v.)). Specific sense in logic dates from 1550s. An earlier form was fallace (c.1300), from Old French fallace.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
fallacy
A false or mistaken idea based on faulty knowledge or reasoning. For example, kings who have divorced their wives for failing to produce a son have held to the fallacy that a mother determines the sex of a child, when actually the father does. (See sex chromosomes.)
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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.