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Philosophers are constantly using the word fallacy. For them, a fallacy is reasoning that comes to a conclusion without the evidence to support it. This may have to do with pure logic, with the assumptions that the argument is based on, or with the way words are used, especially if they don't keep exactly the same meaning throughout the argument. There are many classic fallacies that occur again and again through the centuries and everywhere in the world. You may have heard of such fallacies as the "ad hominem" fallacy, the "question-begging" fallacy, the "straw man" fallacy, the "slippery slope" fallacy, the "gambler's" fallacy, or the "red herring" fallacy. Look them up and see if you've ever been guilty of any of them.

Examples of fallacy in a Sentence

The fallacy of their ideas about medicine soon became apparent. the once-common fallacy that girls just weren't any good at math

Recent Examples on the Web But this wasn't just a function of the fallacy of composition, where one loony activist says something off the wall and the GOP amplifies it far beyond reason in order to tar the opposition unfairly. — Damon Linker, TheWeek, "The left just got crushed," 4 Nov. 2020 The planning fallacy applies especially black swan–type low-probability, high-impact events such as an election catastrophe. — Gleb Tsipursky, Fortune, "It may sound far-fetched, but businesses need to be ready for an election-related disaster," 29 Oct. 2020 This tendency both helped create her reputation as a moderate and perpetuated the fallacy of a predominant political middle. — Meredith Shiner, The New Republic, "Susan Collins and the Death of the Senate," 19 Oct. 2020 Lo-TEK tells a few stories: of the significance and value of indigenous wisdom; of our need to live in harmony with nature; and of the fallacy of unbridled industrialization and growth. — Emily Farra, Vogue, "How Indigenous Architecture Can Change the Way We Live on Earth," 27 Oct. 2020 This is the most famous illustration of what statisticians call the gambler’s fallacy. — Andrew Crumey, WSJ, "Chance of a Lifetime," 2 Oct. 2020 While serving on the TSARP committee, Smith discovered a fallacy in the preparation of new floodplain maps. — David Taylor, Houston Chronicle, "Cypress Creek Flood Control Coalition continues work after two decades," 17 Oct. 2020 The fallacy of these tools can be seen in places like Ahoskie, an agricultural community framed by fields of soybeans and cotton whose high rates of poverty and unemployment put health care out of reach for many residents. — Casey Ross @caseymross, STAT, "From a small town in North Carolina to big-city hospitals, how software infuses racism into U.S. health care," 13 Oct. 2020 But identifying a logical fallacy isn’t winning a debate. — Eric Ravenscraft, Wired, "How to Win Any Debate," 29 Sep. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fallacy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.