specious
Americanadjective
-
apparently good or right though lacking real merit; superficially pleasing or plausible.
specious arguments.
- Antonyms:
- genuine
-
pleasing to the eye but deceptive.
- Synonyms:
- misleading, false
- Antonyms:
- genuine
-
Obsolete. pleasing to the eye; fair.
adjective
-
apparently correct or true, but actually wrong or false
-
deceptively attractive in appearance
Related Words
See plausible.
Other Word Forms
- nonspecious adjective
- nonspeciously adverb
- nonspeciousness noun
- speciously adverb
- speciousness noun
- unspecious adjective
- unspeciously adverb
- unspeciousness noun
Etymology
Origin of specious
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin speciōsus “fair, good-looking, beautiful,” equivalent to speci(ēs) ( species ) + -ōsus adjective suffix; -ous
Compare meaning
How does specious compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The trouble with most theories about conspiratorial schemes—the weird ones of 4chan and the specious ones of the faculty lounges—is that they arise from motivated reasoning.
It’s a specious explanation that doesn’t add up.
The “real, factual data” that underpinned Leavitt’s statement was specious at best.
From Salon
But that is a specious argument, because money is fungible.
“His claims that the investigations surrounding him are specious — the investigations were appropriate,” Kastor added.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
