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What is a word that means "something that seems true, but isn't?"

English Language & Usage Asked on March 19, 2021

I’ve been looking for a general word to define an idea that seems true, but simply isn’t.

A simple example: "The Earth is flat." If all you know is the world outside your window, and you’ve never done any basic experiments, read books, or seen photos to the contrary, this seems like a reasonable explanation. But it doesn’t take too much more examination to find out that it just isn’t so.

The key point here is that it’s something a reasonable person could reasonably believe.

The closest I’ve come to what I’m looking for is "verisimilitude." I looked at this answer, but it seems to me that words like "spurious" or "nonsense" seem to imply some ill-intent to deceive, which is not what I’m after. (Or maybe it’s more a concept than a word, and that’s ok too, if anyone has thoughts on that.)

2 Answers

Seemingly works well for the given context.

appearing to be something, especially when this is not true:

He remains confident and seemingly untroubled by his recent problems.

[Cambridge]

You could this say: The earth is seemingly flat. (which it isn't in reality.)

Answered by user405662 on March 19, 2021

I would use ostensibly.

OED : as appears or is stated to be true, though not necessarily so

Answered by Wade B on March 19, 2021

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