Critical Thinking Skills

noun a pair of small screens attached to a horse's bridle to prevent it from seeing sideways and behind, used to keep the horse focused on what is ahead

• The horse wore blinders to help keep its focus during the race.
• I need to put on my blinders and concentrate on finishing this project.
• Don't let your blinders stop you from seeing the bigger picture.
• She had blinders on when it came to her relationship, refusing to see any red flags.

noun the quality of being clear, logical, and convincing; persuasiveness

• The cogency of the argument presented by the expert was undeniable.
• I was impressed by the cogency of his reasoning during the debate.
• Her cogency in explaining the concept blew my mind.
• The cogency of her emotions was evident in the way she expressed herself.

noun a system of principles or beliefs that are strongly held and presented as unquestionably true

• The professor's dogmatism in his teaching style made it difficult for students to ask questions.
• Her dogmatism about the best way to cook pasta was annoying to her friends.
• I can't stand his dogmatism when it comes to video games.
• The company's dogmatism in sticking to outdated practices eventually led to its downfall.

verb A word used to describe an action, state, or occurrence. In this case, 'examining' is a present participle form of the verb 'examine'.

• The researchers are currently examining the data to draw conclusions.
• I'm just examining these documents to see if there's anything interesting.
• I'm just eyeballing this report to see if there are any red flags.
• She spent hours examining her thoughts before making a decision.

noun a mistaken belief, especially one based on unsound argument

• The argument that all politicians are corrupt is a fallacy.
• Thinking that all cats hate water is a fallacy.
• Believing that you can get rich quick is a total fallacy.
• The fallacy of assuming success will come overnight is a common misconception.

adjective not apt or pertinent; unsuitable or inappropriate

• The use of that example was inapposite to the topic being discussed.
• Bringing up that point was totally inapposite to what we were talking about.
• Dude, that was so off-topic, it was inapposite.
• His attempt at humor was inapposite, like a square peg in a round hole.

noun the faculty of reasoning and understanding objectively, especially with regard to abstract or academic matters

• His intellect was evident in his ability to solve complex problems effortlessly.
• She's got quite the intellect when it comes to trivia games.
• That guy's got some serious brainpower, his intellect is off the charts.
• Her intellect was a shining beacon in a sea of ignorance.

noun a word used in asking a question, such as 'who', 'what', 'where', 'when', 'why', or 'how'

adjective relating to or denoting a question

• The interrogative tone of the prosecutor's questions made the witness uneasy.
• Why are you always asking so many interrogative questions?
• Stop with the interrogative talk, it's annoying.
• The interrogative nature of her art leaves viewers pondering deeper meanings.

noun the process of logical reasoning or thinking

• His ratiocination skills were evident in his ability to analyze complex problems.
• She used her ratiocination to figure out the best route to take.
• I can't believe his ratiocination led him to that crazy conclusion.
• Her ratiocination was like a well-oiled machine, always coming to logical conclusions.

noun the quality of being sagacious; keen mental discernment and good judgment

• His sagacity in financial matters was highly respected by the board members.
• She always turns to her grandmother for sagacity when making important decisions.
• I never expected him to show such sagacity in handling the situation.
• The sagacity of the old tree in the forest was evident in its ability to survive harsh weather conditions.

noun a subtle, tricky, superficially plausible, but generally fallacious method of reasoning

• The politician's argument was filled with sophistry, attempting to deceive the public with flawed reasoning.
• Don't fall for his sophistry, he's just trying to trick you with fancy words.
• That guy's sophistry is so obvious, he thinks he can fool everyone but he's just full of it.
• Her words were like a web of sophistry, weaving a complex and deceptive narrative.

noun a form of reasoning in which a conclusion is drawn from two given or assumed propositions (premises); a common or useful form of reasoning

• A syllogism is a form of reasoning in which a conclusion is drawn from two given or assumed propositions (premises).
• I learned about syllogisms in my philosophy class - it's all about drawing conclusions from two premises.
• Syllogisms are like those logic puzzles where you have to figure out who ate what based on a few clues.
• In a way, life can be seen as a series of syllogisms where we make decisions based on our beliefs and experiences.

adjective not inclined or able to judge, especially by the application of critical standards

• It is important to approach this research with a critical mindset, rather than an uncritical one.
• You shouldn't just believe everything you hear, be a bit more uncritical.
• Don't be so gullible, try not to be so uncritical.
• She approached the situation with uncritical optimism, not considering the potential risks.

verb to solve or explain (a riddle or mystery)

• The detective was able to unriddle the complex clues and solve the case.
• I can't unriddle this riddle, it's too tricky!
• I'm trying to unriddle this text message, but it's full of emojis and abbreviations.
• The poet's words were so deep and layered, it took me a while to unriddle their true meaning.

adjective firmly established or deeply rooted

adverb in a thorough or comprehensive manner

• The research findings are based on a well-grounded theoretical framework.
• She is a well-grounded individual who always thinks before acting.
• My friend is so well-grounded, she always knows what's up.
• His arguments were well-grounded in logic and reason.

noun A word that functions as the name of something, such as a person, place, or thing. In this case, 'words' and 'wisdom' are both nouns.

preposition A word that shows the relationship between a noun (or pronoun) and other words in a sentence. In this case, 'of' is a preposition that connects the two nouns 'words' and 'wisdom'.

• The professor shared some insightful words of wisdom during the lecture.
• My grandma always has the best words of wisdom to share with me.
• Dude, you gotta listen to his words of wisdom, they're on point.
• In times of doubt, her words of wisdom were like a guiding light for me.

adjective Describing someone who is slow to understand or lacking in intelligence.

• The professor found it challenging to teach the hard of thinking students.
• Some people are just hard of thinking and need things explained multiple times.
• Don't bother explaining it to him, he's just hard of thinking.
• His stubbornness makes him hard of thinking when it comes to accepting new ideas.

noun the quality of seeming or being felt to be true, even if not necessarily true

adjective relating to or characteristic of truthiness

• The concept of truthiness refers to the quality of seeming or being felt as true, even if not necessarily true in reality.
• People tend to believe in truthiness rather than seeking out actual facts sometimes.
• Don't just go by truthiness, do your research and find the real truth.
• Her argument was based more on truthiness than on concrete evidence.

noun a person who believes in or uses magical thinking

• The professor described the student as a magical thinker for his ability to come up with innovative solutions to complex problems.
• My friend is such a magical thinker - she always believes in the power of positive thinking to make things happen.
• I never thought of myself as a magical thinker, but after that meditation retreat, I feel like anything is possible.
• As a writer, she was known for her magical thinker approach to storytelling, weaving fantastical elements into everyday life.

noun a Latin phrase meaning 'argument from ignorance', a logical fallacy where a proposition is assumed to be true because it has not been proven false

adverb in a way that relates to the logical fallacy of argument from ignorance

• The argumentum ad ignorantiam fallacy occurs when someone claims something is true simply because it hasn't been proven false.
• Don't fall for the ad ignorantiam fallacy - just because we don't know something doesn't mean it's automatically true.
• People who use ad ignorantiam arguments are basically saying 'I don't know, therefore I'm right.'
• She relied on ad ignorantiam to defend her position, refusing to consider any evidence to the contrary.