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

As with Twitter, Meta appears to have justified the suspensions on specious grounds, citing the accounts as exposing “private information” even though they merely repost already-public information made available by the Federal Aviation Administration.

From Slate

And if getting canned sounds like some reputational disqualifier, what you’ll learn from “Union,” the gripping, on-the-ground documentary from Brett Story and Stephen Maing, is that the perennial axing of employees for specious reasons is key to the trillion-dollar behemoth’s bottom line.

From Los Angeles Times

“We are a country divided, and we need to stand against false rhetoric,” she said during public comment, “and we need to dispel the kind of specious assertions like these that turn regulators and the public against one of our best tools to address the climate crisis.”

From Los Angeles Times

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

Related Words

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