sophistic

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   apparently plausible or clever but actually fallacious or misleading

   The inmate defended his theory with sophistic reasoning that confused coincidence with cause.

2. 2
   adj

   relating to the ancient Greek Sophists, their teaching, or their methods of argument

   The dialogue examines the sophistic practice of teaching rhetoric for payment.

A learned borrowing from Latin sophisticus, from Ancient Greek sophistikos, 'of or for a sophist,' based on sophistes, 'expert, wise person, or sophist.' As Sophists became associated with arguments intended to persuade rather than establish truth, the adjective acquired its critical sense 'plausible but fallacious.'

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images