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View synonyms for specious

specious

[ spee-shuhs ]

adjective

  1. apparently good or right though lacking real merit; superficially pleasing or plausible:

    specious arguments.

    Antonyms: genuine

  2. pleasing to the eye but deceptive.

    Synonyms: misleading, false

    Antonyms: genuine

  3. Obsolete. pleasing to the eye; fair.


specious

/ ˈspiːʃəs /

adjective

  1. apparently correct or true, but actually wrong or false
  2. deceptively attractive in appearance
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈspeciousness, noun
  • ˈspeciously, adverb
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Other Words From

  • specious·ly adverb
  • specious·ness noun
  • non·specious adjective
  • non·specious·ly adverb
  • non·specious·ness noun
  • un·specious adjective
  • un·specious·ly adverb
  • un·specious·ness noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of specious1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin speciōsus “fair, good-looking, beautiful,” equivalent to speci(ēs) ( species ) + -ōsus adjective suffix; -ous
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Word History and Origins

Origin of specious1

C14 (originally: fair): from Latin speciōsus plausible, from speciēs outward appearance, from specere to look at
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Synonym Study

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Example Sentences

Nor do a publisher’s specious appeals to us based on bothsiderism in an existential election.

From Salon

And as they did in 2020, Trump’s agents and allies are already preparing to flood the courts with specious lawsuits to stop Kamala Harris from assuming office if she wins the 2024 election.

From Salon

Kevin Maher of the Times called the film "puerile, pointless and intellectually specious", noting that some audience members walked out of the Cannes Film Festival screening.

From BBC

Trump recently recently made the specious claim on Truth Social that he would be "great for women and their reproductive rights."

From Salon

Not because it hasn’t sprung from a sandbox, but because it’s such a facile and specious argument: Why, Trump demands, hasn’t Harris already accomplished all that she is promising on the campaign trail?

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