Sophism

['sɒfɪz(ə)m] or ['sɑfɪzəm]

Definition

(noun.) a deliberately invalid argument displaying ingenuity in reasoning in the hope of deceiving someone.

Checked by Charlie--From WordNet

Definition

(n.) The doctrine or mode of reasoning practiced by a sophist; hence, any fallacy designed to deceive.

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Synonyms and Synonymous

n. Fallacy, paralogism, paralogy, quibble, fallacious argument.

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Synonyms and Antonyms

SYN:Fallacy, quibble, paralogism

ANT:Truth, argument, reason, logic, syllogism

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Definition

n. a specious fallacy..—n. Soph′ist one of a class of public teachers of rhetoric philosophy &c. in Greece in the 5th century B.C.: a captious or fallacious reasoner—also Soph′ister (Shak.): a student at an English university in his second or third year the students in these years being called junior and senior sophister respectively.—adjs. Sophis′tic -al pertaining to a sophist or to sophistry: fallaciously subtle.—adv. Sophis′tically.—n. Sophis′ticalness the state or quality of being sophistical.—v.t. Sophis′ticāte to render sophistical or unsound: to corrupt by mixture.—adj. Sophis′ticāted adulterated: impure: not genuine.—ns. Sophisticā′tion act of sophisticating adulterating or injuring by mixture; Sophis′ticātor one who sophisticates or adulterates; Sophis′ticism the philosophy or the methods of the sophists; Soph′istress a she-sophist; Soph′istry specious but fallacious reasoning.

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