Misreasoning

Part of speech: noun, verb, adjective

Definitions

1. The act or process of arriving at faulty or incorrect conclusions through flawed logic or mistaken judgment
2. The condition or quality of drawing incorrect inferences due to errors in reasoning or inaccurate thought processes
3. A state characterized by erroneous thinking and the application of unsound principles when forming beliefs or decisions

Etymology: "Misreasoning" is a plain formation: the prefix "mis-" (from Old English "mis-", meaning "wrongly" or "amiss") attached to "reasoning," the present participle and gerund of "reason," which came into English through Old French "raisun" from Latin "ratio," meaning "calculation" or "reckoning." The Latin root is the same one behind "ratio" and "rational." The prefix does most of the work here. "Mis-" was productive in Old English and remains so today, forming words like "misread," "mistake" (from Old Norse), and "misjudge." Combining it with a gerund creates a noun for the act or state of reasoning wrongly, and the adjective and verb forms follow the same pattern. The word is a transparent compound rather than a term with a dramatic backstory, so its meaning is essentially what its parts suggest.

Synonyms: fallacious reasoning, faulty logic, erroneous thinking, illogical thinking

Antonyms: correct reasoning, sound logic, valid thinking, rational thinking