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

Derived Forms

• ˈspeciousness, noun
• ˈspeciously, adverb

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

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of specious¹

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

Synonym Study

See plausible.

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?

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• deceptive
• erroneous
• false
• inaccurate
• incorrect
• plausible
• spurious
• untrue