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Synonyms
fallacy - 5 dictionary results
fal⋅la⋅cy
[fal-uh-see] 
–noun, plural -cies.
| 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. |
| 4. | Logic. any of various types of erroneous reasoning that render arguments logically unsound. |
| 5. | Obsolete. deception. |
Origin:
1350–1400; < L fallācia a trick, deceit, equiv. to fallāc- (s. of fallāx) deceitful, fallacious + -ia -y 3 ; r. ME fallace < MF
1350–1400; < L fallācia a trick, deceit, equiv. to fallāc- (s. of fallāx) deceitful, fallacious + -ia -y 3 ; r. ME fallace < MF
Synonyms:
1. misconception, delusion, misapprehension.
1. misconception, delusion, misapprehension.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To fallacy
| fal·la·cy (fāl'ə-sē) n. pl. fal·la·cies
[Alteration of Middle English fallace, from Old French, from Latin fallācia, deceit, from fallāx, fallāc-, deceitful, from fallere, to deceive.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Fallacy
Fal"la*cy\, n.; pl. Fallacies. [OE. fallace, fallas, deception, F. fallace, fr. L. fallacia, fr. fallax deceitful, deceptive, fr. fallere to deceive. See Fail.]1. Deceptive or false appearance; deceitfulness; that which misleads the eye or the mind; deception. Winning by conquest what the first man lost, By fallacy surprised. --Milton. 2. (Logic) An argument, or apparent argument, which professes to be decisive of the matter at issue, while in reality it is not; a sophism. Syn: Deception; deceit; mistake. Usage: Fallacy, Sophistry. A fallacy is an argument which professes to be decisive, but in reality is not; sophistry is also false reasoning, but of so specious and subtle a kind as to render it difficult to expose its fallacy. Many fallacies are obvious, but the evil of sophistry lies in its consummate art. "Men are apt to suffer their minds to be misled by fallacies which gratify their passions. Many persons have obscured and confounded the nature of things by their wretched sophistry; though an act be never so sinful, they will strip it of its guilt." --South.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : fallacy
Spanish:
falacia, sofisma,
German:
der Trugschluß,
Japanese:
誤った考え
fallacy
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.)
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
fallacy
1481, "deception, false statement," from L. fallacia "deception," from fallax (gen. fallacis) "deceptive," from fallere "deceive." Specific sense in logic dates from 1552.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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