(Ävâ²Ä­d) adj. 1. Having or marked by keen interest and enthusiasm: an avid golfer; an avid interest in cooking. 2. Having or marked by strong desire or craving; greedy: an economy with an avid appetite for consumer goods.
Definition: Making assumptions about a whole group or range of cases based on a sample that is inadequate (usually because it is atypical or too small). Stereotypes about people (âlibrarians are shy and smart,â âwealthy people are snobs,â etc.) are a common example of the principle underlying hasty generalization.
It is only a fallacy to claim that an argument is wrong because of a negative attribute of someone making the argument. (i.e. âJohn is a jerk.â is not a fallacy. âJohn is wrong because he is a jerk.â is a logical fallacy.) The term âpoisoning the wellâ also refers to a form of ad hominem fallacy.