fallacy

noun

ˈfa-lə-sē How to pronounce fallacy (audio)
Definition of fallacynext
1
as in delusion
a false idea or belief the once-common fallacy that girls just weren't any good at math

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in deception
the quality or state of being false the fallacy of the notion of spontaneous generation was demonstrated by the Dutch naturalist Leeuwenhoek

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 fallacy Psychologists refer to this as the planning fallacy, where individuals underestimate how long things will take while overestimating how much can be deferred without consequence. — Jeremy Bradley-Silverio Donato, Forbes.com, 12 May 2026 Like being able to recognize logical fallacies and how to have media literacy. — Phillip Sitter, Des Moines Register, 7 May 2026 For example, the false dilemma logical fallacy has become a very popular way to persuade people to incorrectly believe there are only two options. — Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Oc Register, 4 May 2026 Since the city adopted the video release policy more than a decade ago, experience has repeatedly demonstrated the fallacy of limiting inquiry to the precise moment when a police officer fires their gun. — Jamie Kalven, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for fallacy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fallacy
  1. delusion
  2. deception
  3. myth
  4. deceptiveness
  5. error
  6. falseness
  7. illusion
  8. falsehood
Noun
  • The 29-year-old Christian Faith Madison died after walking into traffic, with her family arguing that the OpenAI chatbot had fueled her religious delusions during their extensive interactions, pushing her over the edge by romanticizing death.
    — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 23 July 2026
  • The delusion is painful to watch, but the greater tragedy is that his proximity to this staggering wealth insures his and Lindsay’s misery.
    — Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 22 July 2026
Definition of delusion
Noun
  • Yes, a bit of deception has long been standard in listing photos — a wide lens, a bit of color saturation to make a viewless window appear brighter — but the tools today are more sophisticated, cheaper, and pretty ubiquitous.
    — Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 21 July 2026
  • Nolan reinvents him as a naive young soldier left outside the horse to sell Odysseus’ deception.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2026
Definition of deception
Noun
  • The show feels like a street dance crossed with a concert (at one point the musicians are introduced by name) that happens to have a hallowed myth threaded down the middle of it.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 25 July 2026
  • To cap it off, the Messi Test also takes the air out of a prevailing myth, which is an oversimplification of a more nuanced reality.
    — Bhaskar Chakravorti, Fortune, 25 July 2026
Definition of myth
Noun
  • Of course, the retort is that this would be irritating and exasperating to be continually deluged with alerts about AI deceptiveness.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 24 Aug. 2025
  • Beyond the deceptiveness of the narrow material view, spiritual light and hope are always present to be found and felt.
    — Sue Brightman, Christian Science Monitor, 3 Jan. 2025
Definition of deceptiveness
Noun
  • High jump is a technical event — while physiology matters, the winner tends to be decided by who can best correct their errors as the bar goes up.
    — Liam Tharme, New York Times, 25 July 2026
  • The device also features a small joystick, likely the 13th key, that can trigger reusable Codex Skills and common workflows such as debugging an error, reviewing a pull request, or refactoring code.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 25 July 2026
Definition of error
Noun
  • The falseness of the medium, though, jibed with the falseness of most attempts, throughout American history, to make sense of this enormous, strange man.
    — Christopher Hooks, Harpers Magazine, 23 June 2026
Definition of falseness
Noun
  • The pairing creates the illusion of mixing and matching patterns while still remaining cohesive.
    — Alice Cary, Vogue, 24 July 2026
  • This technique presents the illusion of two struggling baitfish simultaneously — one on the surface and the other just below.
    — Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 23 July 2026
Definition of illusion
Noun
  • In an era when AI generates convincing falsehoods at scale and a third of teenagers report being deceived by fake content online, the ability to weigh evidence critically is not an academic exercise but a plain necessity.
    — Rajiv Vinnakota, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026
  • Trump is twice divorced, relishes cursing publicly and offers a never-ending onslaught of falsehoods.
    — Will Weissert, Fortune, 18 July 2026
Definition of falsehood

Browse Nearby Words

fallaciousness
fallacy
fal-lal
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Fallacy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fallacy. Accessed 27 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on fallacy

Nglish: Translation of fallacy for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about fallacy

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of parochial

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

Every Letter Is Silent, Sometimes: A-Z List of Examples
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 24

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
chain-question-mark
Missing Link Quiz July 2026 Five seconds to figure out the word that fits bot...
See All