false premise

American  

[fawls prem-is] / ˈfɔls ˈprɛm ɪs /

noun

1. Logic. an incorrect proposition that, by forming the basis of an argument, will almost certainly lead to an invalid or logically unsound conclusion.

2. a lie, such as one deliberately established to support a conclusion or inference that obscures the truth.

   By devising the elaborate false premise of her inability to walk, the thief avoided suspicion for the burglaries in her building.

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Etymology

Origin of false premise

First recorded in 1600–10

Example Sentences

They rely on the false premise that generators will be able to supply power at a lower cost than regulated utilities, which have a much lower cost of capital.

From Barron's • Jan. 16, 2026

Time-travel paradoxes rest on the false premise that events exist as revisitable locations.

From Science Daily • Nov. 2, 2025

"By not recognising that value flows both ways between telecoms companies and content-hosting platforms, this consultation is based on a false premise."

From Reuters • Feb. 23, 2023

Roberts of securepairs.org agrees, describing security by obscurity as a "false premise."

From Salon • Jan. 11, 2023

Without equality, eugenics would inevitably falter on the false premise that social ills, such as vagrancy, pauperism, deviance, alcoholism, and feeblemindedness were genetic ills—while, in fact, they merely reflected inequality.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee