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sophistic

adjective

variants or sophistical
Definition of sophisticnext
as in specious

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sophistic What is sophistic is therefore to let the movement from sentience to moral status and then from moral status to legal rights happen without making visible the additional premises that are necessary at each stage. — Hamilton Mann, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026 The characters are treated with odd touches of realism and their sophistic arguments are stingingly psychologized. — Charles McNulty, latimes.com, 8 Sep. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sophistic
  1. specious
  2. misleading
  3. irrational
  4. illogical
  5. fallacious
  6. nonrational
  7. unreasonable
  8. unreasoning
Adjective
  • This specious parallel is all too readily available; the bombing of Dresden is the more obvious comparison.
    — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2026
  • In the world of wellness and health content, few areas of our anatomy attract more interest lately — and specious claims — than the gut microbiome.
    — Will Stone, NPR, 22 June 2026
Definition of specious
Adjective
  • A matter of distance and brightness The stars that compose the Triangle — Vega, Altair, and Deneb — lie at very unequal distances from us, so their apparent brightness can give a misleading impression of their true luminosity.
    — Joe Rao, Space.com, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Publishers don’t want irrelevant or misleading ads to appear on their media sources.
    — Roman Vrublivskyi, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of misleading
Adjective
  • Our simple equation, for example, has the solutions and , which are irrational; their digits begin and keep going forever without repeating.
    — Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 9 Sep. 2026
  • So the strongest performers tend to resist hardest, and their response is not irrational.
    — Pankaj Prasoon, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of irrational
Adjective
  • But that’s illogical, given the enormous ratings for the Seahawks–Patriots game, which was shown on the NBC broadcast network and the Peacock streaming service.
    — Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Trump's resumption of his illogical on-again, off-again trade war with our ally to the north has caused considerable economic concern in Canada, but has also activated a rush of resilience that Republicans in America can only dream of.
    — Chris Brennan, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of illogical
Adjective
  • Defenders of Israel believe that designation is fallacious and dangerous.
    — Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 13 July 2026
  • There is a widespread but fallacious perception that India's tariffs are inordinately high.
    — Mohan Kumar, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Aug. 2025
Definition of fallacious
Adjective
  • Mid-century collective behavior theories considered social movements to be nonrational, spontaneous events occurring during moments of social and cultural breakdown.
    — The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 10 Sep. 2025
Definition of nonrational
Adjective
  • The imposition of the tariffs stemmed from a breakdown in negotiations between the two countries in August, with each claiming the other side had unreasonable requests that would be detrimental to their respective country’s workers.
    — Washington Examiner Staff, The Washington Examiner, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Drop one task that doesn’t need to happen today, and ask for clarification if a deadline feels unreasonable.
    — Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of unreasonable
Adjective
  • But in each event—in the living act, the undoubted deed—there, some unknown but still reasoning thing puts forth the mouldings of its features from behind the unreasoning mask.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 July 2026
  • Roosevelt surely understood that nameless, unreasoning, unjustified fear cannot be eradicated.
    — New York Times, New York Times, 9 June 2026
Definition of unreasoning

Browse Nearby Words

sophisms
sophistic
sophisticate
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Cite this Entry

“Sophistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sophistic. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

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