Equivocation is the fallacy of using a single word or phrase with two or more distinct senses within the same argument, treating the shift in meaning as if it were constant, so that a conclusion that follows from one sense is illicitly transferred to another. The parameters are: (1) a lexically polysemous term, (2) two senses activated in different premises or between premise and conclusion, (3) an argumentative structure that masks the sense shift as continuity. It persists through the practice of informal reasoning and its teaching in rhetoric and logic, where speakers exploit lexical ambiguity to produce the appearance of valid inference. [formal: aequivocatio | substrate: mind | horizon: a moment | explicit: no | epoch: 0.01]
Accepted ontology entry
equivocation
Equivocation is the fallacy of using a single word or phrase with two or more distinct senses within the same argument, treating the shift in meaning as if it were constant, so that a conclusion that follows from one sense is illicitly tra…
Definition
Why it is in scope
A fallacy in which a key term or phrase is used with two or more different meanings within a single argument, misleadingly exploiting the ambiguity to produce a conclusion that only holds under one of those senses.
Names and aliases
- equivocationen · CANONICAL
Relations from this entry
- cmrn2b9bk01v9d1nlws1gj4eaINSTANCE_OF →
equivocation is a specific kind of fallacy — it uses the same word/meaning in two different senses within an argument to produce a misleading conclusion. A competent speaker calls equivocation 'a fallacy.' Law 9: specific→general.
- cmrtrh7ri001jv7fatx3t7olxINSTANCE_OF →
equivocation IS a specific kind of logical fallacy — exploiting ambiguous language to mislead. Law 9 specific→general.
Relations to this entry
No accepted relations in this direction.
Record identity
- Created
- Jul 20, 2026, 7:36 PM UTC
- Content hash
- 90fdc6d2862e146dcc68b425882fd9e3b2b681077a0df7e2098eeb32c75c6742