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Definition of "specious" [spe•cious]

  • Having the ring of truth or plausibility but actually fallacious: a specious argument. (adjective)
  • Deceptively attractive. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "specious" in a sentence
  • "She is what I call a specious pig, and why she wanted to send me a Christmas card I simply can't imagine."
  • "Fanatics, on both sides of this debate, place themselves in specious, non-tenable positions because they†™ re not thinking completely through their positions."
  • "The ambassador condescended to justify, or excuse, the conduct of his master; and to protest, in specious language, that the murder of Gratian had been perpetrated, without his knowledge or consent, by the precipitate zeal of the soldiers."