speciousness

 [spee-shuhs]  

spe·cious

   [spee-shuhs]
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; Middle English < Latin speciōsus fair, good-looking, beautiful, equivalent to speci(ēs) (see species) + -ōsus -ous

Related forms
spe·cious·ly, adverb
spe·cious·ness, noun
non·spe·cious, adjective
non·spe·cious·ly, adverb
non·spe·cious·ness, noun
EXPAND
un·spe·cious, adjective
un·spe·cious·ly, adverb
un·spe·cious·ness, noun
COLLAPSE

Can be confused: specie, species, specious.

Synonyms
1. See plausible. 2. false, misleading.

Antonyms
1, 2. genuine.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Speciousness is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Collins
World English Dictionary
specious (ˈspiːʃəs)
 
—adj
1.  apparently correct or true, but actually wrong or false
2.  deceptively attractive in appearance
 
[C14 (originally: fair): from Latin speciōsus plausible, from speciēs outward appearance, from specere to look at]
 
'speciously
 
—adv
 
'speciousness
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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