unfalsifiable

[ uhn-fawl-suh-fahy-uh-buhl ]

adjective

1. not able to be proven false, and therefore not scientific:

   Of course conspiracies do happen, but most conspiracy theories are unsupported by evidence, and are also often unfalsifiable.

2. not able to be fraudulently altered or represented falsely:

   This unique and unfalsifiable ID card will have the same function as a biometric passport.

Word History and Origins

Origin of unfalsifiable¹

First recorded in 1835–45; un- ¹( def ) + falsifiable ( def )

Example Sentences

“This is completely unfalsifiable,” says Robert Stern, a plate tectonics expert at the University of Texas at Dallas.

From Scientific American

These theories have either been debunked entirely or fall into the unfalsifiable category of speculative fiction.

From Salon

Vacuous truths are seen as more absurd than false, since they are often unfalsifiable and may not even make contact with reality.

From Salon

Welcome to the “Through the Looking Glass” world of unfalsifiable beliefs: Time was, obsessives about the John F. Kennedy assassination said that the complete absence of evidence of a conspiracy proved the conspiracy’s diabolical thoroughness.

From Washington Post

Unfortunately, that is not always the case—for example, when unfalsifiable ideas like “the existence of the multiverse” and “we live in a simulation” are celebrated by mainstream scientists.

From Scientific American