as in ambiguity
reasoning or arguments that sound correct but are actually false
She said that many of the points made during the debate were pure sophistry.
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Recent Examples of sophistry
The 2022 vaccine mandate decision, another 6-3 masterpiece, turned on sophistry that workplace rules only covered hazards found solely in the workplace (but somehow excluding, say, forced air-breathing with infected employees), and ignored the deeper reality that vaccines save lives.
—
The Editors, Scientific American, 10 July 2024
And if Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta try to point it out before Manchester City faces Arsenal on Sunday, it will be viewed as gamesmanship, or deflection, or unapologetic sophistry.
—Rory Smith, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2024
Amid the verbal sophistry of recent months, it’s become increasingly clear that actions speak far louder.
—Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 23 Dec. 2023
Today, no amount of sophistry can sustain that claim.
—Andrew J. Bacevich, Foreign Affairs, 28 Feb. 2023
See All Example Sentences for sophistry
The Editors, Scientific American, 10 July 2024
And if Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta try to point it out before Manchester City faces Arsenal on Sunday, it will be viewed as gamesmanship, or deflection, or unapologetic sophistry.
—Rory Smith, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2024
Amid the verbal sophistry of recent months, it’s become increasingly clear that actions speak far louder.
—Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 23 Dec. 2023
Today, no amount of sophistry can sustain that claim.
—Andrew J. Bacevich, Foreign Affairs, 28 Feb. 2023
See All Example Sentences for sophistry
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sophistry
Noun
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There’s no ambiguity about who Vyleesi is for.—
Nicholas Florko,
The Atlantic,
16 Mar. 2026
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And even if the teller was present at the event recorded, there’s room for ambiguity, argument.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Investigators say Ford used a two-part deception.—
CBS News Atlanta Digital Staff,
CBS News,
17 Mar. 2026
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But then there’s another wrinkle that Holmes is throwing at batters that could really ramp up the deception.—
Eno Sarris,
New York Times,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Of course, the retort is that this would be irritating and exasperating to be continually deluged with alerts about AI deceptiveness.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
24 Aug. 2025
Noun
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As the writer of some of Deadwood’s and Lost’s best episodes, creator Liz Sarnoff was exactly the person to make something special of Cornwell’s airport fiction.—
Graham Hillard,
The Washington Examiner,
20 Mar. 2026
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Certain passages in the fiction of Jane Bowles read like this.—
Vinson Cunningham,
New Yorker,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sophistry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sophistry. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
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