specious

C2+ Topic:Ethics & Social Judgment

US /ˈspiʃəs/ UK /ˈspiːʃəs/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
superficially plausible but actually wrong or misleading

His argument was specious and collapsed under scrutiny.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · superficially plausible but... misleading deceptive plausible fallacious sophistical spurious

Opposites

genuine valid sound legitimate

Word family

Forms speciously

Derived forms speciouslyspeciousness

Related forms species special spectacle

Etymology

From Latin speciosus ('beautiful, plausible, showy'), from species ('appearance, kind'), from specere ('to look at'). The sense shifted from 'fair-seeming' to 'deceptively attractive'.

speciosus Latin species Latin specere Latin

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Topics

Ethics & Social Judgment Word Formation & Derivatives

# specious

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** ˈspiʃəs
**IPA (UK):** ˈspiːʃəs

## Meanings
1. superficially plausible but actually wrong or misleading

## Examples
- His argument was specious and collapsed under scrutiny.

## Synonyms
- misleading
- deceptive
- plausible
- fallacious
- sophistical
- spurious

## Antonyms
- genuine
- valid
- sound
- legitimate

## Derived Forms
- speciously
- speciousness

## Related Forms
- species
- special
- spectacle

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: speciosus
- Root: species
- Root: specere

## Etymology
From Latin speciosus ('beautiful, plausible, showy'), from species ('appearance, kind'), from specere ('to look at'). The sense shifted from 'fair-seeming' to 'deceptively attractive'.

## AI Etymology
Specious comes from Latin speciosus ('beautiful, plausible, showy'), from species ('appearance, kind'), from specere ('to look at'). The sense shifted from 'fair-seeming' to 'deceptively attractive'. The form is best read as a historical transfer or inheritance, with its older language material carrying the main semantic load. As an adjective, it carries the sense "superficially plausible but actually wrong or misleading", with the older formation still helping explain the modern use. Relevant historical forms include Latin speciosus, Latin species, and Latin specere. Derivative forms include speciously, speciousness; related words include species, special, spectacle.

## Topics
- Ethics & Social Judgment
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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