sophistry

American  

[sof-uh-stree] / ˈsɒf ə stri /

noun

• sophistries
  plural

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

2. a false argument; sophism.

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sophistry British  

/ ˈsɒfɪstrɪ /

noun

1. 1. a method of argument that is seemingly plausible though actually invalid and misleading

   2. the art of using such arguments

2. subtle but unsound or fallacious reasoning

3. an instance of this; sophism

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antisophistry
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• sophistries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of sophistry

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English sophistrie, (from Middle French ), equivalent to sophistre “sophist” ( see sophister) + -ie -y ³, from Medieval Latin sophistria , from Latin sophista, sophistes; see origin at sophist ( def. )

Explanation

Sophistry is tricking someone by making a seemingly clever argument, like a philosopher who argues that up is down and somehow convinces you. If you accuse someone of sophistry, you mean they’ll lie to make a point. The word sophistry has roots in ancient Greece. The Sophists were teachers who were celebrated in their time but were later thought to be more like con artists who would say anything to win an argument. Sophistry is like spin — it means twisting the truth to bend to one’s needs. Politician might accuse people who disagree with them of using sophistry.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sophistry sophistries

One judge said the claimed difference with gambling “is sophistry to the nth degree. . . . It’s still the house.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026

Roberts uses sophistry to avoid answering those bigger questions.

From Slate ● Jun. 18, 2025

Whichever man Odo is, he’s a man who’s capable of covering up pretty much anything with layers of sophistry, becoming “as smooth and serene as the Sphinx.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2025

"Legal sophistry" will not compel India to participate in the proceedings of the PCA, Bagchi said.

From Reuters ● Jul. 7, 2023

It sounded to her like sophistry, or an explanation for its own sake.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

Malcolm Gladwell has spent his entire career creating fallacious arguments otherwise know as sophistries.

From New York Times ● May 29, 2018

Baraka’s poems are filled with tantrums and sophistries, stances and dances.

From New York Times ● Jan. 27, 2015

He’s begun to keep tabs on the online world, alert to the multiplicity of life and language beneath the tantrums and sophistries.

From New York Times ● Jul. 29, 2014

"Respect for others," he writes, "springs spontaneously and naturally in man, long before reasoning and its sophistries come into play."

From Time Magazine Archive

He was anxious to clear away those sophistries and impostures of which he was particularly apprehensive, in view of the somewhat foreign character of his culture and religion.

From Character and Opinion in the United States by George Santayana