specious
Use specious to describe an argument that seems to be good, correct, or logical, but is not so. We live on the earth, therefore the earth must be the center of the universe has been proven to be a specious theory of the solar system.
Specious is pronounced "SPEE-shuhs." Something that is specious is attractive in a deceptive way, and if you follow the word's etymology, you'll see why. In Middle English, this adjective meant "attractive," from Latin speciōsus "showy, beautiful," from speciēs "appearance, kind, sort." Latin speciēs is also the source of English species.
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plausible but false
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based on pretense; deceptively pleasing
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synonyms:
gilded, meretricious
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insincere
lacking sincerity
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insincere
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Vocabulary lists containing specious
This list of intermediate words features a mixture of easier and more difficult words that you may be less familiar with. Study these words and watch your GRE score grow.
Biographer Frank Brady chronicles the meteoric rise and astounding fall of chess prodigy Bobby Fischer.
This list covers "Why I Wrote The Crucible: An Artist’s Answer to Politics."
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