fallacy

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Related to fallacy: logical fallacy, Fallacy of composition, Slippery slope fallacy

fal·la·cy

(făl′ə-sē)

n. pl. fal·la·cies

1. A false notion.

2. A statement or an argument based on a false or invalid inference.

3. Incorrectness of reasoning or belief; erroneousness.

4. The quality of being deceptive.

[Alteration of Middle English fallace, from Old French, from Latin fallācia, deceit, from fallāx, fallāc-, deceitful, from fallere, to deceive.]

fallacy

(ˈfæləsɪ)

n, pl -cies

1. an incorrect or misleading notion or opinion based on inaccurate facts or invalid reasoning

2. unsound or invalid reasoning

3. the tendency to mislead

4. (Logic) logic an error in reasoning that renders an argument logically invalid

[C15: from Latin fallācia, from fallax deceitful, from fallere to deceive]

fal•la•cy

(ˈfæl ə si)

n., pl. -cies.

1. a deceptive, misleading, or false notion, belief, etc.; misconception.

2. a misleading or unsound argument.

3. erroneousness.

4. any of various types of erroneous reasoning that render arguments logically unsound.

5. Obs. deception.

[1350–1400; Middle English fallace < Middle French < Latin fallācia a trick, deceit]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun

fallacy - a misconception resulting from incorrect reasoning

false belief

pseudoscience - an activity resembling science but based on fallacious assumptions

misconception - an incorrect conception

logical fallacy - a fallacy in logical argumentation

pathetic fallacy - the fallacy of attributing human feelings to inanimate objects; `the friendly sun' is an example of the pathetic fallacy

sophism, sophistry, sophistication - a deliberately invalid argument displaying ingenuity in reasoning in the hope of deceiving someone

paralogism - an unintentionally invalid argument

fallacy

noun error, mistake, illusion, flaw, deception, delusion, inconsistency, misconception, deceit, falsehood, untruth, misapprehension, sophistry, casuistry, sophism, faultiness This is the biggest fallacy of all.

fallacy

noun

1. An erroneous or false idea:

erroneousness, error, falsehood, falseness, falsity, untruth.

2. Plausible but invalid reasoning:

casuistry, sophism, sophistry, speciousness, spuriousness.

Translations

مَظْهَر خادِع، مُغالَطَه

bludklamomyl

fejlslutningvildfarelse

Trugschluss

πλάνη

sophisme

téveszme

röng hugmynd, villa

errore fallace fallacia fallibile fallibilit...

klaidinga nuomonėklaidingas įsitikinimas

kļūdamaldi

feilslutning

yanılgı

谬误错误的推论

fallacy

[ˈfæləsɪ] N (= false belief) → falacia f; (= false reasoning) → sofisma m, argucia f

fallacy

[ˈfæləsi] n → idée f fausse
it is a fallacy that ... → il est faux de croire que ...

fallacy

n → Irrtum m; (in logic) → Fehlschluss m, → Trugschluss m; a popular fallacy → ein weitverbreiteter Irrtum

fallacy

[ˈfæləsɪ] n → errore m

fallacy

(ˈfӕləsi) – plural ˈfallacies – noun

a wrong idea or belief, usually one that is generally believed to be true; false reasoning. That belief is just a fallacy.

fallacious (fəˈleiʃəs) adjective

wrong, mistaken or showing false reasoning. a fallacious argument.

References in classic literature ?

He exposed their risk and fallacy with his usual skill; and it was only after he had removed every impediment, in the shape of opposing advice, that he ventured to propose his own projects.

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His life is a mystery to the partner of his joys and sorrows - I again allude to his wife - and if I should assure you that beyond knowing that it is passed from morning to night at the office, I now know less of it than I do of the man in the south, connected with whose mouth the thoughtless children repeat an idle tale respecting cold plum porridge, I should adopt a popular fallacy to express an actual fact.

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It seemed an eminently appropriate thing to Godfrey, for reasons that were known only to himself; and by a common fallacy, he imagined the measure would be easy because he had private motives for desiring it.

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They were slow to abandon the fallacy that no business can be done without a written record.

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Nor must it be imagined that I here commit the fallacy which the logicians call a circle; for since experience renders the majority of these effects most certain, the causes from which I deduce them do not serve so much to establish their reality as to explain their existence; but on the contrary, the reality of the causes is established by the reality of the effects.

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Have we not already seen enough of the fallacy and extravagance of those idle theories which have amused us with promises of an exemption from the imperfections, weaknesses and evils incident to society in every shape?

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Such a fallacy may have been the less perceived, as most of the popular governments of antiquity were of the democratic species; and even in modern Europe, to which we owe the great principle of representation, no example is seen of a government wholly popular, and founded, at the same time, wholly on that principle.

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The secret of it lies in a fallacy, For, assuming that if one thing is or becomes, a second is or becomes, men imagine that, if the second is, the first likewise is or becomes.

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But it is thus with human calculations, The propositions seem plausible, and the reasoning fair, while stern truth lies behind all to level the pride of understanding, and prove the fallacy of the wisdom of men.

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Upon the whole, I was sadly vexed and puzzled, but, at length, I concluded to make a virtue of necessity - to dig with a good will, and thus the sooner to convince the visionary, by ocular demonstration, of the fallacy of the opinions he entertained.

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As they drew near to the village the old men and the women began to meet them, and now a scene ensued that proved the fallacy of the old fable of Indian apathy and stoicism.

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Publications: "Some Observations Upon a Series of Kalmuck Skulls"; "Outlines of Vertebrate Evolution"; and numerous papers, including "The underlying fallacy of Weissmannism," which caused heated discussion at the Zoological Congress of Vienna.