fallacious
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day
Merriam-Webster
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🗓️ 26 August 2024
⏱️ 2 minutes
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Summary
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 26, 2024 is:
fallacious • \fuh-LAY-shus\ • adjective
Fallacious is a formal word that typically describes something, such as an argument or assumption, that is false or inaccurate and that tends to mislead or deceive others.
// The notion that disease is caused by malign spirits was known to be fallacious long before the advent of germ theory.
Examples:
"Bad legislation and fallacious arguments are threatening our most renowned educational institutions, which have made major contributions to our understanding of science and society and to our health and economic well-being, institutions that are the envy of the world." — Burton G. Malkiel, The Wall Street Journal, 19 Oct. 2022
Did you know?
It will come as no surprise that fallacious is related to the noun fallacy, meaning “delusion” or “falsehood.” Both words come from the Latin word fallacia, which in turn comes from fallere, meaning “to deceive.” (Other descendants of fallere in English include fail, false, and fault.) Fallacious arguments are a hot topic among philosophers, and some classic examples include the “ad hominem” fallacy, the “slippery slope” fallacy, and the “red herring” fallacy.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | It's Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 26th. |
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| 0:42.2 | Today's word is fallacious spelled F-A-L-A-C-I-O-U-S. |
| 0:48.0 | Felacious is an adjective. |
| 0:50.2 | It's a formal word that typically describes something such as an argument or |
| 0:54.0 | assumption that is false or inaccurate and that tends to mislead or deceive others. |
| 1:00.1 | Here's the word used in a sentence from the Wall Street Journal. |
| 1:04.0 | Bad legislation and fallacious arguments are threatening our most renowned educational institutions, |
| 1:11.0 | which have made major contributions to our understanding of science and |
| 1:15.1 | society and to our health and economic well-being, institutions that are the envy of the world. |
| 1:23.8 | It will cause no surprise that the word fallacious is related to the noun fallacy, meaning |
| 1:29.1 | delusion or falsehood. |
| 1:31.2 | Both words come from the Latin word fallacia, which in turn comes from phallerere, meaning |
| 1:37.2 | to deceive. Other descendants of phalere in English include the words fail, false, and fault. |
| 1:44.0 | Falacious arguments are a hot topic among philosophers |
... |
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