fallacy

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In this case, the fallacy is the supposed "end of paramilitarism."

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Definitions (29)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (4)

  1. noun A false notion.
  2. noun A statement or an argument based on a false or invalid inference.
  3. noun Incorrectness of reasoning or belief; erroneousness.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (23)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (1)

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Examples (50)

  • Engaging in this fallacy is sometimes known as playing the Nazi card. —  Next Big Future
  • In any case, a larger fallacy is at play here: There is simply no proof that hiring additional teachers and / or reducing class size has much of an impact on student behaviour or educational outcomes. —  Sigmund, Carl and Alfred
  • The fallacy is assuming all multipliers are equal: govt. spending will always produce lower multiples than comparable private sector spending. —  Marketplace
  • This is defined as a fallacy: doing something because we've done it before / we've always done it, etc. —  Think Progress
  • Mac and Linux users who don't think their computers can become infected with malware are falling for the "it doesn't exist because I can't see it" fallacy, and my counterargument for these people is that the air that's keeping us alive isn't visible (usually) but we know that it exists, and viruses are the same way. —  VideoHelp.com Forum
 

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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

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

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. Extended in imitation of Latin fallacia; from Middle English fallace, fallas (see fallace), from Old French fallace, French fallace = Provencal fallacia = Spanish falacia = Portuguese Italian fallacia, from Latin fallacia, deception, deceit, from fallax (fallac-), deceptive, deceitful, from fallere, deceive: see fail.
 

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/ˈfæləsi/
by American Heritage

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