as in misleading
tending or having power to deceive
a specious argument that really does not stand up under close examination
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Recent Examples of specious
Often, those complaints prove specious.
—
Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 13 Nov. 2025
The standard government claim that the victims were either resisting, assaulting or otherwise behaving illegally toward the agents often have been specious and contradicted by evidence.
—Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Nov. 2025
Inside, the layout is streamlined and intuitive, with a door-in-door compartment for quick grabs, a specious full-width drawer, and a three-tier organization system in the freezer.
—Bailey Berg, Architectural Digest, 29 Aug. 2025
Both comparisons are specious and serve little purpose other than to radicalize the respective bases of each party.
—Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 7 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for specious
Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 13 Nov. 2025
The standard government claim that the victims were either resisting, assaulting or otherwise behaving illegally toward the agents often have been specious and contradicted by evidence.
—Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Nov. 2025
Inside, the layout is streamlined and intuitive, with a door-in-door compartment for quick grabs, a specious full-width drawer, and a three-tier organization system in the freezer.
—Bailey Berg, Architectural Digest, 29 Aug. 2025
Both comparisons are specious and serve little purpose other than to radicalize the respective bases of each party.
—Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 7 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for specious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for specious
Adjective
-
Schaeffer says those late-season numbers were misleading.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Cincinnati’s record also may be somewhat misleading.—
Shreyas Laddha,
Kansas City Star,
21 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The felony charges are forgery and deceptive or fraudulent business practices.—
Michael Guise,
CBS News,
25 Feb. 2026
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All clever touches and deceptive movement, this was the Eze Arsenal couldn’t bear to miss out on.—
Amy Lawrence,
New York Times,
23 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
After chasing thousands of leads and pursuing several false confessions, investigators arrested the four men in 1999.—
Greg Wehner,
FOXNews.com,
20 Feb. 2026
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This becomes, like the false premises of a rom-com relationship, the dirt between the gears of their dynamic.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
20 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Specious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/specious. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
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