unfalsifiable

American  

[uhn-fawl-suh-fahy-uh-buhl] / ʌnˌfɔl səˈfaɪ ə bəl /

adjective

1. not able to be proven false, and therefore not scientific.

   Of course conspiracies do happen, but most conspiracy theories are unsupported by evidence, and are also often unfalsifiable.

2. not able to be fraudulently altered or represented falsely.

   This unique and unfalsifiable ID card will have the same function as a biometric passport.

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Etymology

Origin of unfalsifiable

First recorded in 1835–45; un- ¹ ( def. ) + falsifiable ( def. )

Explanation

If there's no scientific way to prove that something's not true, it's unfalsifiable. You may believe that your dog dreams about rabbits, but since it's impossible to test whether he does or doesn't dream of bunnies, it's unfalsifiable. A theory about something has to be falsifiable in order to be considered a scientific hypothesis. The statement "all cats are gray" is falsifiable, because you can observe many cats and prove that it's false. Unfalsifiable claims, which often pop up in conspiracy theories, can't be tested — it doesn't mean those beliefs are wrong, just that they're unscientific and impossible to prove.

Example Sentences

Vacuous truths are seen as more absurd than false, since they are often unfalsifiable and may not even make contact with reality.

From Salon • Sep. 4, 2022

Welcome to the “Through the Looking Glass” world of unfalsifiable beliefs: Time was, obsessives about the John F. Kennedy assassination said that the complete absence of evidence of a conspiracy proved the conspiracy’s diabolical thoroughness.

From Washington Post • May 27, 2022

And these observations therefore become what’s called unfalsifiable.

From The Verge • Dec. 17, 2021

An example of an unfalsifiable hypothesis is “Botticelli’s Birth of Venus is beautiful.”

From Textbooks • Sep. 6, 2018

Popper has criticized Freudianism for claims and predictions which, though perhaps comforting or suggestive in one way or another, are, like the above statements, largely unfalsifiable.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos