fallacy

fallacy — fallacy, sophism, sophistry, casuistry are comparable when meaning unsound and misleading reasoning or line of argument. The same distinctions in implications and connotations are distinguishable in the corresponding adjectives fallacious,… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

Fallacy — Fal la*cy (f[a^]l l[.a]*s[y^]), n.; pl. {Fallacies} (f[a^]l l[.a]*s[i^]z). [OE. fallace, fallas, deception, F. fallace, fr. L. fallacia, fr. fallax deceitful, deceptive, fr. fallere to deceive. See {Fail}.] 1. Deceptive or false appearance;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

fallacy — [fal′ə sē] n. pl. fallacies [ME fallace < OFr < L fallacia, deception, artifice < fallax (gen. fallacis), deceitful < fallere, to deceive: see FAIL] 1. Obs. deception 2. aptness to mislead; deceptive or delusive quality [the fallacy… …   English World dictionary

fallacy — I noun captio, deception, deceptive belief, delusion, deviation from truth, distortion, erroneous reasoning, erroneousness, error, fallacious argument, false appearance, falseness, falsity, faultiness, faulty reasoning, flaw in reasoning,… …   Law dictionary

fallacy — late 15c., deception, false statement, from L. fallacia deception, noun of quality from fallax (gen. fallacis) deceptive, from fallere deceive (see FAIL (Cf. fail)). Specific sense in logic dates from 1550s. An earlier form was fallace (c.1300),… …   Etymology dictionary

fallacy — [n] illusion, misconception aberration, ambiguity, artifice, bias, casuistry, cavil, deceit, deception, deceptiveness, delusion, deviation, elusion, equivocation, erratum, erroneousness, error, evasion, falsehood, faultiness, flaw, heresy,… …   New thesaurus

fallacy — ► NOUN (pl. fallacies) 1) a mistaken belief. 2) a failure in reasoning which makes an argument invalid. DERIVATIVES fallacious adjective. ORIGIN Latin fallacia, from fallere deceive …   English terms dictionary

Fallacy — In logic and rhetoric, a fallacy is usually incorrect argumentation in reasoning resulting in a misconception or presumption. By accident or design, fallacies may exploit emotional triggers in the listener or interlocutor (appeal to emotion), or… …   Wikipedia

fallacy — /fal euh see/, n., pl. fallacies. 1. a deceptive, misleading, or false notion, belief, etc.: That the world is flat was at one time a popular fallacy. 2. a misleading or unsound argument. 3. deceptive, misleading, or false nature; erroneousness.… …   Universalium

fallacy — n. 1) a fallacy to + int. (it s a fallacy to assume that he will help) 2) a fallacy that (it s a fallacy that all politicians are corrupt) * * * [ fæləsɪ] a fallacy that (it s a fallacy) that all politicians are corrupt a fallacy to + inf. (it s… …   Combinatory dictionary

fallacy — Synonyms and related words: Albigensianism, Arianism, Catharism, Ebionitism, Erastianism, Gnosticism, Jovinianism, Lollardy, Manichaeanism, Manichaeism, Monophysism, Monophysitism, Pelagianism, Waldensianism, Wyclifism, aberrancy, aberration,… …   Moby Thesaurus