fal ‧ la ‧ cy /ˈfæləsi/ BrE AmE noun ( plural fallacies )
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: fallacia , from fallere 'to deceive' ]
1 . [countable] a false idea or belief, especially one that a lot of people believe is true SYN misconception :
It’s a common fallacy that a neutered dog will become fat and lazy.
2 . [uncountable and countable] formal a weakness in someone’s argument or ideas which is caused by a mistake in their thinking SYN flaw
⇨ ↑ pathetic fallacy
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THESAURUS
■ something that is untrue
▪ myth something a lot of people believe because they want to believe it, not because it is based on fact:
The first myth about motherhood is that new mothers instantly fall in love with their babies.
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Contrary to popular myth, our streets are much safer now than they were 100 years ago.
▪ illusion a belief or idea that is false, especially a belief in something good about yourself or about the situation you are in:
Alcohol gives people the illusion of being witty and confident.
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People bought the land under the illusion that the value would increase.
▪ misconception an idea that is not true but which people believe because they do not have all the facts, or they have not properly understood the situation:
It’s a common misconception that vaccinations given in childhood last for life.
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Employers seem to share the general misconception that young people are more efficient than older workers.
▪ delusion a completely mistaken idea, which affects your behaviour and what you decide to do:
He began to suffer from paranoid delusions.
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Many people labour under the delusion (=have the delusion) that anything which says ‘natural ingredients’ on the label must be harmless.
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the delusion that women control most of the world' s wealth and power
▪ fallacy if you say that something is a fallacy, you mean that it is completely wrong to believe that it is true:
The idea that a good night’s sleep will cure everything is a complete fallacy.
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It’s a fallacy that all fat people are fat simply because they eat too much.