Words / C1

FAL-uh-see/ˈfæləsi/

A fallacy is a false belief or a flaw in reasoning: the fallacy that you can learn a language in a week. Mistake is everyday and can be a slip; fallacy names the bad logic or the popular myth. Fallacious is the adjective. Writers often label a named fallacy (a false dichotomy). In speech, that does not follow or that’s a myth is enough.

Meaning

A false idea or a mistake in reasoning.

Examples

• “It is a fallacy that you can learn a language in a week.”
• “It is a fallacy to treat correlation as proof of cause.”
• “The article dismantles the fallacy that grammar drills kill fluency.”

Good to know

a fallacy that…. Adjective: fallacious. Stronger than a simple mistake. Everyday: myth / bad logic.

Near in meaning

myth

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