It's Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 26th.
Today's word is phalacious, spelled F-A-L-L-A-C-I-O-U-S.
Phalacious is an adjective.
It's a formal word that typically describes something such as an argument or assumption that is false or inaccurate and that tends to mislead or deceive others.
Here's the word used in a sentence from the Wall Street Journal.
Bad legislation and fallacious arguments are threatening our most renowned educational institutions,
which have made major contributions to our understanding of science and society and to our health and economic well-being,
institutions that are the envy of the world.
It will come as no surprise that the word fallacious is related to the noun fallacy,
meaning delusion or falsehood.
Both words come from the Latin word fallacia, which in turn comes from falere, meaning to deceive.
Other descendants of falere in English include the words fail, false, and fault.
Fallacious arguments are a hot topic among philosophers,
and some classic examples include the ad hominem fallacy,
the slippery slope fallacy, and the red herring fallacy.
With your Word of the Day, I'm Peter Sokolowski.