sophism
UK [ˈsɔfɪzəm] · US [ˈsɑfɪzəm] noun
Forms sophisms
- noun (uncountable, historical) The school of the sophists in antiquity; their beliefs and method of teaching philosophy and rhetoric.
- noun (countable) A flawed argument, superficially correct in its reasoning, usually designed to deceive.
- noun (countable) An intentional fallacy.
- noun (uncountable) Sophistic, fallacious reasoning or argumentation.
Synonyms
sophistic sophistry quibbling pilpul pilpulism sophistication
Etymology
From Middle English sophim, from Old French soffime, sofime, sofisme, sophisme, from Latin sophisma (“fallacy, sophism”), from Ancient Greek σόφῐσμᾰ (sóphĭsmă), from σοφίζω (sophízō) + -μα (-ma).
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “sophism”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details