How do you pronounce fallacy?

The recorded pronunciation is /ˈfæl.ə.si/.

Where does fallacy come from?

It is traced to Middle English.

fallacy

/ˈfæl.ə.si/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.21 in modern English

Syllables: fal-la-cy
IPA: /ˈfæl.ə.si/

Scrabble Score

Letters

Syllables

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Deceptive or false appearance; that which misleads the eye or the mind.

noun

An argument, or apparent argument, which professes to be decisive of the matter at issue, while in reality it is not; a specious argument.

Example Sentences

"Mr Jones expressed great gratitude to the lady for the kind intentions towards him which she had expressed, and indeed testified, by this proposal; but, besides intimating some diffidence of success from the lady’s knowledge of his love to her niece, which had not been her case in regard to Mr Fitzpatrick, he said, he was afraid Miss Western would never agree to an imposition of this kind, as well from her utter detestation of all fallacy as from her avowed duty to her aunt."
"I no longer believe in happiness, because I see the fallacy of my first belief; and the examination which that induced, has shewn me the fallacy of all. Shew me a heart without its hidden wound."
"Baldridge also showed the "one molecule of blood," usually held to be the stimulus for attracting sharks, to be another common fallacy, since a molecule of blood does not exist."

Etymology

From Middle English fallaci, fallace, fallas, from Old French fallace (whence -acy), from Latin fallācia (“deception, deceit”), from fallāx (“deceptive, deceitful”), from fallere (“to deceive”).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: fallaci, fallace, fallācia
Suffix: -acy

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈfæl.ə.si/
British English: /ˈfæl.ə.si/

Inflected Forms

fallacies (plural)

Derived Forms

counterfallacy fallacious phallusy

Phrases

apex fallacy association fallacy bandwagon fallacy base rate fallacy black swan fallacy conceptual fallacy conjunction fallacy ethnocentric fallacy

Frequently Paired Words

fail fallible sophism

Synonyms

deception deceitfulness logical fallacy incorrect argument misargument non-argument pseudoargument false belief