sophism

/ˈsɑfɪzəm/

Other forms: sophisms

When someone deliberately tries to trick you by making a false statement, that's a sophism. Inventing statistics to back up your personal belief that dogs are smarter than humans is one example of sophism.

Fact-checking the statements politicians make is important, in order to uncover sophisms they might be using. If a candidate falsely claims that the crime rate in a city is rising so that he can gain the support of voters who believe he'll be tough on crime, his statement is a sophism. The word comes from the Old French sophime, "fallacy or false argument," and its root, the Greek sophisma, "clever device or stage trick."

Definitions of sophism

1. noun

   a deliberately invalid argument displaying ingenuity in reasoning in the hope of deceiving someone
   synonyms: sophistication, sophistry

   type of:

   fallacy, false belief

   a misconception resulting from incorrect reasoning