Sunday, March 1, 2020

Word of the Week 03/01/20: Specious

From Dictionary.com:
1. apparently good or right though lacking real merit; superficially pleasing or plausible
2. pleasing to the eye but deceptive

From Wiktionary:
1. Seemingly well-reasoned, plausible or true, but actually fallacious.
2. Employing fallacious but deceptively plausible arguments; deceitful.
3. Having an attractive appearance intended to generate a favorable response; deceptively attractive.
4. (obsolete) Beautiful, pleasing to look at.

From Merriam-Webster:
Specious traces to the Latin word speciosus, meaning "beautiful" or "plausible," and Middle English speakers used it to mean "visually pleasing." But by the 17th century, specious had begun to suggest an attractiveness that was superficial or deceptive, and, subsequently, the word's neutral "pleasing" sense faded into obsolescence.

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