fallacious

adjective

fə-ˈlā-shəs How to pronounce fallacious (audio)
Definition of fallaciousnext
1
as in unreasonable
not using or following good reasoning it's fallacious to say that something must exist because science hasn't proven its nonexistence

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in misleading
tending or having power to deceive consumers who harbor the fallacious belief that credit-card spending will never catch up with them

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fallacious There is a widespread but fallacious perception that India's tariffs are inordinately high. — Mohan Kumar, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Aug. 2025 The same economists who believe in the same fallacious economic notions? — John Tamny, Forbes.com, 6 July 2025 That will in turn spread on social media, which often plays a disproportional role in boosting these disinformation efforts by providing nearly unlimited platforms for unfiltered content and fallacious and deceptive claims. — Peter Suciu, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024 There might be a bigger market for these products, and more consumers might be immune to the fallacious argument that they’re overly processed, if more people were persuaded of the ills of factory farming. — Kenny Torrella, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018 See All Example Sentences for fallacious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fallacious
  1. unreasonable
  2. misleading
  3. irrational
  4. deceptive
  5. unreasoning
  6. false
  7. illegitimate
  8. unreasoned
Adjective
  • With 20th Television increasingly focused on supplying Disney platforms, integrating the two areas would not be unreasonable.
    — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Frimpong concluded that plaintiffs were likely to prove the practice violated the 4th Amendment’s protection against unreasonable seizures and the 5th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection.
    — Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of unreasonable
Adjective
  • Early voting trends and stories about how long the lines are in reliably red or blue districts are tempting to use as data points — but are notoriously misleading.
    — Ben Smith, semafor.com, 3 Nov. 2026
  • The claim featured in the ad was rated misleading, as a series of court records undercut the claim that Hamilton attempted to protect the child abuser.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of misleading
Adjective
  • The more adult take is that these votes are not so much an irrational tantrum as a warning that a significant portion of Illinois feels increasingly alienated from its own government.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 10 Nov. 2026
  • Because the entire system is rewarded by doing more, investments in prevention are financially irrational.
    — Paul Markovich, STAT, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of irrational
Adjective
  • The agency said undisclosed collection or use of personal information to personalize prices could violate the FTC Act’s prohibition on unfair or deceptive practices.
    — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 3 Nov. 2026
  • The Brennan Center for Justice tested ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, Claude, Perplexity and DeepSeek for their willingness to facilitate deceptive content.
    — Julia Boorstin, CNBC, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of deceptive
Adjective
  • But in each event—in the living act, the undoubted deed—there, some unknown but still reasoning thing puts forth the mouldings of its features from behind the unreasoning mask.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 July 2026
  • Roosevelt surely understood that nameless, unreasoning, unjustified fear cannot be eradicated.
    — New York Times, New York Times, 9 June 2026
Definition of unreasoning
Adjective
  • Black asserts that the statements made by Garcia are false and that traveling to appear on national television to make such statements about the inquiry into Epstein’s crimes goes beyond the purview of a member of Congress.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 5 Nov. 2026
  • The hotel had something of a false, albeit star-studded, start, opening for just one night in April 2020 (with first guests including stellar artists Hiroshi Sugimoto and Takashi Murakami), before it was closed by the pandemic.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of false
Adjective
  • Well, yes, this Court is an illegitimate Court on a number of levels.
    — David Remnick, New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Some people who file illegitimate disputes are simply looking to take advantage of the system and were never good customers to begin with.
    — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of illegitimate
Adjective
  • In each case, the actual right to your body is deferred to some third party, either the paternalists, the hypothetical children, or unreasoned authority.
    — Kyle Munkittrick, Discover Magazine, 20 June 2011
Definition of unreasoned

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Cite this Entry

“Fallacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fallacious. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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