fallacy

Origin:
1350–1400; < Latin fallācia a trick, deceit, equivalent to fallāc- (stem of fallāx) deceitful, fallacious + -ia -y³; replacing Middle English fallace < Middle French

Synonyms
1. misconception, delusion, misapprehension.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Fallacy is an LSAT word you need to know.

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any form of reasoning in which the conclusion, though supported by the premises, does not follow from them necessarily.

the possession or possessions of a particular owner, such as land or goods

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Collins

World English Dictionary

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 an error in reasoning that renders an argument logically invalid

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

fallacy

late 15c., "deception, false statement," from L. fallacia "deception," from fallax (gen. fallacis) "deceptive," from fallere "deceive." Specific sense in logic dates from 1550s.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Cultural Dictionary

fallacy definition

A false or mistaken idea based on faulty knowledge or reasoning. For example, kings who have divorced their wives for failing to produce a son have held to the fallacy that a mother determines the sex of a child, when actually the father does. (See sex chromosomes.)

Example sentences

It is implied that there is a logical fallacy here, or an error in the

scientific process.

Yes, there's a mountain of consistent observations out there, but remember the

fallacy of affirming the consequent.

They employ fallacy and conspiracy to sow seeds of fear and distrust, and then

cry when someone labels them for what they are.

But rather than marshaling logically sound arguments, he constantly commits the

fallacy of begging the question.

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equivocation idol ignoratio elenchi infallibility infallible intentionalism

Matching Quote

"To suppose that "I know" is a descriptive phrase, is only one example of the descriptive fallacy, so common in philosophy. Even if some language is now purely descriptive, language was not in origin so, and much of it is still not so. utterance of obvious ritual phrases, in the appropriate circumstances, is not describing the action we are doing, but doing it ("I do"): in other cases it functions, like tone and expression, or again like punctuation and mood, as an intimation that we are employing language in a special way ("I warn," "I ask," "I define"). Such phrases cannot, strictly, be lies, though they can "imply" lies, as "I promise" implies that I fully intend, which may be true."

-John Austin

fallacy

fal·la·cy

fallacy definition