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
as in deception
the quality or state of being false
the fallaciousness of that argument will be apparent as soon as we examine it
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
Peter Suciu, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for fallacious
Adjective
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
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
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
Noun
-
This stylization gives her a veneer of being disarmingly kind; but ultimately, is a form of deception that caused Sophie to fatally trust this person.—
Tiffany Leigh,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2025
-
Codenamed Operation Midnight Hammer, the overnight mission relied on deception, aerial refueling, and near-total radio silence to hit Iran's Fordo and Natanz enrichment facilities—sites that had withstood weeks of sustained Israeli attacks.—
Jesus Mesa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 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
Noun
-
The list of projects that fall prey to the sunk cost fallacy are legion.—
Neil Senturia,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 June 2025
-
And the fallacy is that trade deficits actually mean anything.—
Isabel Danzis,
ABC News,
18 May 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
-
And then, on top of it, I was born out of some affair like some illegitimate, sinful mistake?—
Brie Stimson,
FOXNews.com,
28 June 2025
-
In addition to frequent password updates, individuals will need to be more alert about the increasing amount of malware hiding in illegitimate software, applications and other downloadable files, Valenzuela said.—
Dylan Butts,
CNBC,
26 June 2025
Noun
-
Among these, schizophrenia, a complex mental health condition marked by hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thinking, stands out.—
William A. Haseltine,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2025
-
Ultimately, there may be no way for Israel to escape its smart-bomb delusion—or another quagmire in the Middle East.—
Robert A. Pape,
Foreign Affairs,
17 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fallacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fallacious. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share