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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as in deception
the quality or state of being false
the fallaciousness of that argument will be apparent as soon as we examine it
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of 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
Adjective
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fallacious
Adjective
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At this juncture, a 10-7 regular season record isn’t unreasonable.—
Charley Walters,
Twin Cities,
25 May 2025
-
Are my feelings unreasonable? – Mother-of-the-Groom Gloom Dear Mother: Your feelings are completely reasonable.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Mercury News,
23 May 2025
Noun
-
But these seductions or deceptions are canceled when the work confronts us with the photographic records of the performative procedure itself—and not only by making the photograph an integral component, the dialectical complement to the material sculptural production.—
Benjamin H. D. Buchloh,
Artforum,
1 June 2025
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He’s got some deception on the puck and does a good job holding onto it to wait for secondary options to open up, but slows the game down too much.—
Scott Wheeler,
New York Times,
29 May 2025
Adjective
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It's forged in the quiet, difficult moments when doing the right thing seems irrational.—
Victoria Vitchenco,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2025
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Rejecting his challenge in February 2024, Britain’s High Court said the decision to change Harry’s security status was neither irrational nor procedurally unfair.—
Henry Austin,
NBC news,
2 May 2025
Adjective
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The quest to build human-level AI agents using techniques known to produce deceptive tendencies, Bengio says, is comparable to a car speeding down a narrow mountain road, with steep cliffs on either side, and thick fog obscuring the path ahead.—
Harry Booth,
Time,
3 June 2025
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Last year, the Biden administration's Transportation Department opened an inquiry ordering American, Delta Air Lines, Southwest and United to provide records and submit reports to ensure consumers do not face unfair, deceptive, or anticompetitive practices.—
David Shepardson,
USA Today,
3 June 2025
Noun
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This is a logical fallacy—specifically, a misinterpretation of categorical logic.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes,
6 Mar. 2025
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One such skill is identifying logical fallacies and inconsistencies in arguments, both of which errors are exemplified in Mr. Williams’ article.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
7 May 2025
Adjective
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The decision to deploy Dembele as a false nine for a 3-1 home win over Lyon in mid-December proved the spark for a stupendous run of goal-scoring form in which the France international racked up 27 goals in only 22 appearances.—
Tom Williams,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
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Their accountant filed two false corporate tax returns, claiming one of the couple’s firms earned no money in 2015 and 2016.—
Howard Gleckman,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2025
Adjective
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Maduro, whose reelection last year to a third term has been condemned internationally as illegitimate, also has cracked down on his political opponents.—
Mark Sherman,
Chicago Tribune,
19 May 2025
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Created primarily to fight organized crime, RICO was seldom used until a 1981 Supreme Court decision expanded its interpretation to apply to both legitimate and illegitimate enterprises, according to Jeffrey Grell, an expert on the law who previewed the case for the American Bar Association.—
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Researchers noted the positive effects of ecstatic epilepsy and synthesized fifty-three theoretical models of delusion.—
Rafil Kroll-Zaidi,
Harpers Magazine,
22 May 2025
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But planted within that picture was a glimmer of hope — or maybe delusion — for Sabres fans.—
Matthew Fairburn,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fallacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fallacious. Accessed 8 Jun. 2025.
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