Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

special pleading

noun

Definition of special pleading

  1. 1 :  the allegation of special or new matter to offset the effect of matter pleaded by the opposite side and admitted, as distinguished from a direct denial of the matter pleaded

  2. 2 :  misleading argument that presents one point or phase as if it covered the entire question at issue

People Are Reading

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
alt-596f7d8840dd5
Trending: Trend Watch: 'Admiral's Mast' & A Mystery At Sea
emoji-the-quiz
The Emoji Quiz
ghost-being-disinvited-from-party
'Disinvite' or 'Uninvite'?

First Known Use of special pleading

1684

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up special pleading? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

crucible

play

a severe test

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. admiral's mast A massive search ends with an 'admiral's mast'.

  2. calumny 'An untrue statement that is made to damage someone's reputation'

  3. kakistocracy Frustrated Twitter users have been searching for this word.

  4. bona fide Made in good faith

  5. surrogate mother From TMZ to the dictionary.

SEE ALL

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

image386126722
Words and Phrases That Come from the Dinner Table

Fill your plate with these surprising food words

ghost-being-disinvited-from-party
'Disinvite' or 'Uninvite'?

A disinvited guest is an uninvited problem

alt-596f730ceb5ae
Words We're Watching: 'Scoby'

Kombucha lovers unite.

alt-596e1a928254c
Words We're Watching: 'Fidget Spinner'

Don't fight the fad

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

emoji-the-quiz
The Emoji Quiz

Think you’re an emoji 👓 expert? Let’s see 🤔

Take the quiz
image941935269
A Game of Thrones Word Quiz

In the Game of Thrones quiz, you learn some new vocabulary. (It’s quite safe, really. You will not die.)

Take the quiz
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?

Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!

Take the quiz
Add Diction
Add Diction

Build a chain of words by adding one letter at a time.

Play the game