Meanings
nounfalse dichotomy (plural false dichotomies)
plural false dichotomies
- rhetoricA situation in which two alternative points of view are presented as the only options, when others are available.
Synonyms: fallacy of the excluded middle, false dilemma
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA situation in which two alternative points of view are presented as the only options, when others are available.
Similar
fallacy of the excluded middlefalse dilemma
Also see
Origin
Translations
Afrikaans vals dichotomie
- vals dichotomiesituation in which two alternative points of view are presented as the only options, when others are available
Arabic مأزق مفتعل
- مأزق مفتعلsituation in which two alternative points of view are presented as the only options, when others are available
Chinese Mandarin 假兩難推理 /假两难推理
- 假兩難推理 /假两难推理 (jiǎliǎngnántuīlǐ)situation in which two alternative points of view are presented as the only options, when others are available
Finnish väärä dikotomia, väärä kahtiajako
- väärä dikotomiasituation in which two alternative points of view are presented as the only options, when others are available
- väärä kahtiajakosituation in which two alternative points of view are presented as the only options, when others are available
French fausse dichotomie, faux dilemme
- fausse dichotomiesituation in which two alternative points of view are presented as the only options, when others are available
- faux dilemmesituation in which two alternative points of view are presented as the only options, when others are available
German falsche Dichotomie
- falsche Dichotomiesituation in which two alternative points of view are presented as the only options, when others are available
Italian falsa dicotomia
- falsa dicotomiasituation in which two alternative points of view are presented as the only options, when others are available
Japanese 誤った二分法
- 誤った二分法 (ayamattanibunhō)situation in which two alternative points of view are presented as the only options, when others are available
Korean 거짓 이분법
- 거짓 이분법 (geojit ibunbeop)situation in which two alternative points of view are presented as the only options, when others are available
Lithuanian netikrasis pasirinkimas
- netikrasis pasirinkimassituation in which two alternative points of view are presented as the only options, when others are available
Persian دوگانه جعلی
- دوگانه جعلیsituation in which two alternative points of view are presented as the only options, when others are available
Portuguese falsa dicotomia
- falsa dicotomiasituation in which two alternative points of view are presented as the only options, when others are available
Russian ло́жная дихотомия
- ло́жная дихотомия (lóžnaja dixotomija)situation in which two alternative points of view are presented as the only options, when others are available
Swedish falsk dikotomi
- falsk dikotomisituation in which two alternative points of view are presented as the only options, when others are available
Thai ทวิบถเท็จ
- ทวิบถเท็จsituation in which two alternative points of view are presented as the only options, when others are available
Turkish yanlış ikilem
- yanlış ikilemsituation in which two alternative points of view are presented as the only options, when others are available
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with false dichotomy
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
false dichotomy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/false%20dichotomy
MLA
“false dichotomy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/false%20dichotomy. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “false dichotomy,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/false%20dichotomy.
Source: false dichotomy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.