Skip to main content
Dictionary
Store
Blog
World
Help
Advertise
Chat
System Status
Information Collection Notice
Trademark Concerns
reCAPTCHA Privacy
Terms of Service
reCAPTCHA Terms
Privacy Policy
Accessibility
Report a Bug
Data Request
Contact Us
Security
DMCA
© 1999–2026 Urban Dictionary ®
Mugs
Tees
Hoodies
Pro Customization
Create unique products with your own words and definitions
Preview
Personalize Your Design
Your Word
Your Definition
The tactic of using a single exception to veto an entire generalization, no matter how well-supported. Single-anomaly veto is what happens when one counterexample—real or imagined—is used to dismiss mountains of evidence. It's the logic of "some smokers live to 100, so smoking doesn't cause cancer," of "one study found no effect, so all the other studies are wrong." The single-anomaly veto is beloved of denialists, who can always find an exception and use it to veto the rule. The cure is recognizing that generalizations are about patterns, not absolutes; exceptions prove the rule only in the sense of testing it, not disproving it.
Text fits
Save
Cancel