specious

[ spee-shuhs ]
/ ˈspi ʃəs /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR specious ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

apparently good or right though lacking real merit; superficially pleasing or plausible: specious arguments.
pleasing to the eye but deceptive.
Obsolete. pleasing to the eye; fair.

Origin of specious

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin speciōsus fair, good-looking, beautiful, equivalent to speci(ēs) (see species) + -ōsus -ous

SYNONYMS FOR specious

1 See plausible.
2 false, misleading.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR specious ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM specious

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH specious

specie species specious

Words nearby specious

specificity, specify, specimen, specimen plant, speciosity, specious, specious present, speck, speckle, speckle interferometry, speckle pattern

Words related to speciousness

cavil, perversion, delusion, falsehood, miscalculation, bias, casuistry, artifice, deception, evasion, aberration, ambiguity, heresy, prejudice, deviation, flaw, misapprehension, misinterpretation, quirk, solecism

Example sentences from the Web for speciousness

British Dictionary definitions for speciousness

specious
/ (ˈspiːʃəs) /

adjective

apparently correct or true, but actually wrong or false
deceptively attractive in appearance

Derived forms of specious

speciously, adverb speciousness, noun

Word Origin for specious

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