no true Scotsman fallacies

A form of no true Scotsman fallacy — An informal fallacy in which one attempts to defend or protect an a posteriori claim from a falsifying counterexample by covertly modifying the initial claim, especially transforming it into a tautology by saying that any counterexamples are ipso facto not valid members of the class being described.

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Meanings

noun
  1. pluralplural of no true Scotsman fallacy
Cite this entry
APA

no true Scotsman fallacies. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/no%20true%20Scotsman%20fallacies

MLA

“no true Scotsman fallacies.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/no%20true%20Scotsman%20fallacies. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “no true Scotsman fallacies,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/no%20true%20Scotsman%20fallacies.

Source: no true Scotsman fallacies on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.