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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Lawyers who argued for his ouster on behalf of the National Assembly said the claims by Mr. Yoon were fallacious.
—
Choe Sang-Hun, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2025
However, not all slippery slope arguments are fallacious.
—Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 26 Mar. 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
But hard evidence in both our nation’s history and our present shows that this reasoning is fallacious.
—Ana Raquel Minian, TIME, 30 May 2024
See All Example Sentences for fallacious
Choe Sang-Hun, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2025
However, not all slippery slope arguments are fallacious.
—Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 26 Mar. 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
But hard evidence in both our nation’s history and our present shows that this reasoning is fallacious.
—Ana Raquel Minian, TIME, 30 May 2024
See All Example Sentences for fallacious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fallacious
Adjective
-
Solomon, 47, of Fairburn, was arraigned in federal court on June 17 on charges of using unreasonable force and obstructing justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia said in a news release.—
Julia Marnin,
Miami Herald,
18 June 2025
-
California Department of Education officials in 2018 found that school staff used unreasonable and unnecessary force in restraining Max.—
Darrell Smith,
Sacbee.com,
17 June 2025
Adjective
-
It’s been reopened in chunks, thanks to the unrelenting optimism and irrational persistence of a corps of downtown residents led by Rodriguez and Rosa Chang.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
16 June 2025
-
On the other hand, especially given that the vote was still restricted to only a small minority of propertied men, the rise of party politics itself sharpened the age-old mistrust of popular judgment as irrational and easily swayed—especially by lies.—
Fara Dabhoiwala,
Harpers Magazine,
4 June 2025
Adjective
-
In the suit, filed Friday, Newsom says that Fox News had used deceptive edits to claim that the governor had lied in saying that Trump had not called him about deploying National Guard troops during the L.A. protests.—
Caitlin Huston,
HollywoodReporter,
27 June 2025
-
Florida is leading the way in what can become a national movement to crack down on hospitals’ deceptive and unfair billing practices.—
Cynthia A. Fisher,
Sun Sentinel,
26 June 2025
Adjective
-
This was a false charge by the Bush administration, as the United Nations’ inspectors on the ground in Iraq tried to communicate to Bush, and as his intelligence agencies tried to tell him.—
Tom Zirpoli,
Baltimore Sun,
24 June 2025
-
But an investigation resulted in an astonishing call from the other side of the world, which revealed that ‘The GPO Girl’ was, in fact, a 25-year-old Australian, who has created more than 100 false identities.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
24 June 2025
Adjective
-
For years, Putin claimed that direct talks with Ukraine were impossible because President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government was illegitimate and, more important, Ukraine wasn’t a real country—merely a proxy for the American imperial project.—
Andrew Ryvkin,
The Atlantic,
16 June 2025
-
Putin has insisted that Ukraine must replace its leadership through elections, describing Zelensky's rule as illegitimate.—
David Faris,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Read more: How to Manage Your Climate Guilt Meanwhile, the same system has given rise to what can only be described as illogical trade—the global exchange of identical products, where countries import and export the same foods, often across vast distances.—
Nathalie Kelley,
Time,
17 June 2025
-
That nobody has to this point is illogical, particularly in light of the fees being committed to transfers in the European market.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
17 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fallacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fallacious. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share