specious
SPEE-shuss
/ˈspiː.ʃəs/
Superficially plausible or attractive, but actually wrong, false, or lacking merit.
Emphasizes that something looks convincing at first glance, but collapses upon critical examination.
The story behind the word. In ancient Rome, speciosus meant 'beautiful' or 'fair to look upon'. Over centuries, English speakers noticed that things looking beautiful on the outside are often hollow. By the 1600s, 'specious' came to describe anything that looks good only on the surface.
Word relationships
- fallacious: Fallacious means containing a logical flaw, while specious highlights that the argument looks attractive on the surface.
- misleading: Misleading means giving a wrong impression, whereas specious specifically implies deceptive surface plausibility.
- valid: Valid means sound, logical, and well-grounded in fact.
- cogent: Cogent means clear, logical, and convincingly true.
Commonly confused with
- spacious: Spacious means having ample space, while specious means deceptively plausible.
Word family
- speciously (adverb): In a superficially plausible but false manner.
- speciousness (noun): The quality of being specious.
Collocations
- specious argument
- specious logic
- specious reasoning
Idioms & expressions
- all that glitters is not gold
- gilded lily
Example sentences
- "The defense attorney presented a specious argument that sounded convincing initially, but was quickly dismantled on cross-examination." Courtroom trial
Memory hook
SPEC-ious: looks good to the EYE (spec = look), but is false inside. Pretty outside, false inside.
When not to use
Do not use for arguments that are obviously ridiculous from the start.
Fun facts
- In Middle English, calling a woman 'specious' was a high compliment praising her physical beauty!
Related words
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