ignoratio elenchi
Americannoun
noun
-
a purported refutation of a proposition that does not in fact prove it false but merely establishes a related but strictly irrelevant proposition
-
the fallacy of arguing in this way
Etymology
Origin of ignoratio elenchi
1580–90; < Latin ignōrātiō elenchī literally, ignorance of the refutation; see elenchus
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
His whole paper is an ignoratio elenchi, and he doesn't touch a single one of my positions.
From The Letters of William James, Vol. II by William James
Perhaps it might be said that in arguing, "All men are mortal, and you are a man," it is not so much ignoratio elenchi as petitio principii that you commit.
From Logic, Inductive and Deductive by William Minto
It would therefore be an ignoratio elenchi to allow oneself to be disposed of in such a manner.
From The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer; the Art of Controversy by T. Bailey (Thomas Bailey) Saunders
An ignoratio elenchi more flagrant—a mistaking of the question more palpable—it is surely not possible to conceive.
From A Theodicy, or, Vindication of the Divine Glory by Albert Taylor Bledsoe
To deny or ridicule any of these beliefs on physical grounds is to commit the fallacy of ignoratio elenchi.
From On the Genesis of Species by St. George Mivart
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
