specious
/ˈspiːʃəs/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.45 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Seemingly well-reasoned, plausible or true, but actually fallacious.
adj
Employing fallacious but deceptively plausible arguments; deceitful.
adj
Having an attractive appearance intended to generate a favorable response; deceptively attractive.
adj
Alternative form of speciose (“rich in species”).
Example Sentences
- "This idea that we must see through what we have started is specious, however good it may sound."
- "now to the discourse itself, voluble enough, and full of sentence, but that, for the most part, either specious rather than solid, or to his cause nothing pertinent."
- "I have frequently amused myself both in public and private companies, with silently remarking, the specious errors of those who speak without reflecting."
- "“Number two is that for reasons which I regarded at the time as specious and insulting, the Americans objected to your husband's presence on that committee not three weeks after it met, and asked me to replace him with somebody more to their liking. Since Magnus was kingpin of the Czecho operation and of several other little shows in Eastern Europe besides, this was a totally unrealistic demand.""
- "Feig’s Ghostbusters isn’t out until July 15, but since the project was announced in 2014 as a reboot of the hit 1984 film[…] a vocal minority of movie fans have come up with specious reasons to criticize it."
- "With early virtues plant your breaſt, / The ſpecious arts of vice deteſt."
Etymology
From Middle English speciose, specious, from Anglo-Norman specious, Middle French specieux, and their etymon Latin speciōsus (“good-looking”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈspiːʃəs/
- British English: /ˈspiːʃəs/
Usage
Inflected Forms
more specious (comparative)
most specious (superlative)
Derived Forms
Phrases
specious present
specious tiger