sophism

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: soph=ism

CIDE DICTIONARY

sophism, n. [F. sophisme, L. sophisma, fr. Gr. , fr. to make wise, to be become wise, to play the sophist, fr. wise.].

 The doctrine or mode of reasoning practiced by a sophist; hence, any fallacy designed to deceive.  [1913 Webster]
"When a false argument puts on the appearance of a true one, then it is properly called a sophism, or “fallacy”."  [1913 Webster]
"Let us first rid ourselves of sophisms, those of depraved men, and those of heartless philosophers."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

sophism, n. a false argument, esp. one intended to deceive.

Etymology

ME f. OF sophime f. L f. Gk sophisma clever device f. sophizomai become wise f. sophos wise

THESAURUS

sophism

apparent soundness, argument, argument by analogy, argumentum ad baculum, argumentum ad captandum, argumentum ad hominem, bad case, begging the question, casuistry, circular argument, circularity, claptrap, crowd-pleasing argument, deception, deceptiveness, delusion, disingenuousness, distortion, empty words, equivocalness, equivocation, evasive reasoning, fallaciousness, fallacy, formal fallacy, hysteron proteron, illogicality, insincere argument, insincerity, invalidity, irrationality, jesuitism, jesuitry, logical fallacy, material fallacy, mere rhetoric, misapplication, moonshine, mystification, non sequitur, obfuscation, obscurantism, oversubtlety, paralogism, perversion, petitio principii, philosophism, plausibility, plausibleness, pseudosyllogism, rationalization, solecism, sophistical reasoning, sophistication, sophistry, special pleading, speciosity, specious reasoning, speciousness, spuriousness, subtlety, unsoundness, verbal fallacy, vicious circle, vicious reasoning, weak point

ROGET THESAURUS

sophism

& Sophistry

N intuition, instinct, association, hunch, gut feeling, presentiment, premonition, rule of thumb, superstition, astrology, faith (supposition), sophistry, paralogy, perversion, casuistry, jesuitry, equivocation, evasion, chicane, chicanery, quiddet, quiddity, mystification, special pleading, speciousness, nonsense, word sense, tongue sense, false reasoning, vicious reasoning, circular reasoning, petitio principii, ignoratio elenchi, post hoc ergo propter hoc, non sequitur, ignotum per ignotius, misjudgment, false teaching, sophism, solecism, paralogism, quibble, quirk, elenchus, elench, fallacy, quodlibet, subterfuge, subtlety, quillet, inconsistency, antilogy, a delusion, a mockery, and a snare, claptrap, cant, mere words, lame and impotent conclusion, meshes of sophistry, cobwebs of sophistry, flaw in an argument, weak point, bad case, overrefinement, hairsplitting, intuitive, instinctive, impulsive, independent of reason, anterior to reason, gratuitous, hazarded, unconnected, unreasonable, illogical, false, unsound, invalid, unwarranted, not following, inconsequent, inconsequential, inconsistent, absonous, absonant, unscientific, untenable, inconclusive, incorrect, fallacious, fallible, groundless, unproved, non sequitur, it does not follow, deceptive, sophistical, jesuitical, illusive, illusory, specious, hollow, plausible, ad captandum, evasive, irrelevant, weak, feeble, poor, flimsy, loose, vague, irrational, nonsensical, foolish, frivolous, pettifogging, quibbling, finespun, overrefined, at the end of one's tether, au bout de son latin, intuitively, by intuition, illogically, non constat, that goes for nothing.

Absurdity

N absurdity, absurdness, imbecility alogy, nonsense, utter nonsense, paradox, inconsistency, stultiloquy, stultiloquence, nugacity, blunder, muddle, bull, Irishism, Hibernicism, slipslop, anticlimax, bathos, sophism, farce, galimathias, amphigouri, rhapsody, farrago, betise, extravagance, romance, sciamachy, sell, pun, verbal quibble, macaronic, jargon, fustian, twaddle, gibberish, exaggeration, moonshine, stuff, mare's nest, quibble, self- delusion, vagary, tomfoolery, poppycock, mummery, monkey trick, boutade, escapade, absurd, nonsensical, preposterous, egregious, senseless, inconsistent, ridiculous, extravagant, quibbling, self-annulling, self- contradictory, macaronic, punning, foolish sophistical, unmeaning, without rhyme or reason, fantastic, Int, fiddlededee!, pish!, pho!, in the name of the Prophet--figs!, credat Judaeus Apella, tell it to the marines.