specious
7 dictionary results for: specious
Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English - Cite This Source - Share This
| Main Entry: | specious1 |
| Part of Speech: | adj |
| Definition: | showily beautiful or attractive |
| Etymology: | Latin specissus 'beautiful, plausible' |
Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English, Preview Edition (v 0.9.7)
Copyright © 2007 Lexico Publishing Group, LLC
Copyright © 2007 Lexico Publishing Group, LLC
Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English - Cite This Source - Share This
| Main Entry: | specious2 |
| Part of Speech: | adj |
| Definition: | plausible but not true; based on pretense; sophistic |
| Etymology: | Latin specissus 'beautiful, plausible' |
Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English, Preview Edition (v 0.9.7)
Copyright © 2007 Lexico Publishing Group, LLC
Copyright © 2007 Lexico Publishing Group, LLC
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
spe·cious 
[spee-shuhs] Pronunciation Key
[spee-shuhs] Pronunciation Key –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. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| spe·cious
(spē'shəs) Pronunciation Key
adj.
[Middle English, attractive, from Latin speciōsus, from speciēs, appearance; see spek- in Indo-European roots.] spe'cious·ly adv., spe'ci·os'i·ty (-shē-ŏs'ĭ-tē), spe'cious·ness (-shəs-nĭs) n. |
(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
specious
specious
c.1400, "pleasing to the sight, fair," from L. speciosus "good-looking, beautiful," from species "appearance" (see species). Meaning "seemingly desirable, reasonable or probable, but not really so" is first recorded 1612.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| specious | |
adjective | |
| 1. | plausible but false; "a specious claim"; "spurious inferences" |
| 2. | based on pretense; deceptively pleasing; "the gilded and perfumed but inwardly rotten nobility"; "meretricious praise"; "a meretricious argument" [syn: gilded] |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Specious
Spe"cious\, a. [L. speciosusgood-looking, beautiful, specious, fr. species look, show, appearance; cf. F. sp['e]coeux. See Species.]1. Presenting a pleasing appearance; pleasing in form or look; showy. Some [serpents] specious and beautiful to the eye. --Bp. Richardson. The rest, far greater part, Will deem in outward rites and specious forms Religion satisfied. --Milton. 2. Apparently right; superficially fair, just, or correct, but not so in reality; appearing well at first view; plausible; as, specious reasoning; a specious argument. Misled for a moment by the specious names of religion, liberty, and property. --Macaulay. In consequence of their greater command of specious expression. --J. Morley. Syn: Plausible; showy; ostensible; colorable; feasible. See Plausible. -- Spe"xious*ly, adv. -- Spe"cious*ness, n.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Share This:
Copyright © 2008, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.