specious
English · Thesaurus
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specious¹
- /ˈspiːʃəs/ UK
- /ˈspiːʃəs/ US
Rhymes with -iːʃəs
Where it comes from
From Middle English speciose, specious, from Anglo-Norman specious, Middle French specieux, and their etymon Latin speciōsus (“good-looking”).
adjective more specious · most specious
-
Seemingly well-reasoned, plausible or true, but actually fallacious.
This idea that we must see through what we have started is specious, however good it may sound.
Similar: fallacious
- Employing fallacious but deceptively plausible arguments; deceitful. With early virtues plant your breaſt, / The ſpecious arts of vice deteſt.
-
Having an attractive appearance intended to generate a favorable response; deceptively attractive.
And could any thing be more ſpecious, or more equal, than that fair diſtribution of power and profit, which men called the NEW MODEL?
Similar: meretricious, pretextual
- Beautiful, pleasing to look at.
specious²
- /ˈspiːʃəs/ UK
- /ˈspiːʃəs/ US
Rhymes with -iːʃəs
adjective more specious · most specious
- Alternative form of speciose (“rich in species”). Coelorinchus is the most specious genus of macrourids with 122 species at the time of writing and more yet to be described.
Translations
Every language
adj seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious
| Español | especioso |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | まことしやかな makotoshiyaka na, 似て非なる nite hinaru |
| 中文 | 似是而非 sìshì'érfēi |
| Português | especioso |
| Français | spécieux |
| Deutsch | vordergründig, fadenscheinig, unfundiert, leer |
| Italiano | specioso |
adj with appearance intended to generate a favorable response
| Español | fingido, falso, de pretexto, pretextado |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Schein-, vorgeschoben, fadenscheinig |
Talk about this word "specious." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/specious. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. specious. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/specious "specious." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/specious.Cite this
@misc{specious_2026,
title = {specious},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/specious},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
