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Word of the Week: Specious

02.04.2007

spe?cious [spee-shuh s]

–adjective
1. apparently good or right though lacking real merit; superficially pleasing or plausible: specious arguments.

2. pleasing to the eye but deceptive.

3. Obsolete. pleasing to the eye; fair.

[Origin: 1350–1400; ME < L speciosus fair, good-looking, beautiful, equiv. to speci(és) (see species) + -osus -ous]

–Related forms
spe?cious?ly, adverb
spe?cious?ness, noun

–Synonyms
1. See PLAUSIBLE.
2. false, misleading.

-Antonyms
1, 2. genuine.

In A Sentence
"The Dunsmen (or Dunces) rallied against the attack (their name was by then already associated with 'hair-splitting-ness' and specious reasoning), but all their struggle against the 'new learning' only made their name synonymous with 'idiot..'"

- SDSTAFF Gaudere, "What's the origin of the dunce cap?", The Straight Dope, June 21, 2000

 

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, ? Random House, Inc. 2006.

Shawn Denny, Information Services Librarian