“Coffee, the favorite drink of the civilized world.” – Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States
SPECIOUS
gilded, meretricious, specious, glossy
(adjective) based on pretense; deceptively pleasing; “the gilded and perfumed but inwardly rotten nobility”; “meretricious praise”; “a meretricious argument”
specious, spurious
(adjective) plausible but false; “a specious claim”; “spurious inferences”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Adjective
specious (comparative more specious, superlative most specious)
Seemingly well-reasoned, plausible or true, but actually fallacious.
Synonyms: fallacious, insincere
Employing fallacious but deceptively plausible arguments; deceitful.
Having an attractive appearance intended to generate a favorable response; deceptively attractive.
Synonyms: meretricious, pretextual
(obsolete) Beautiful, pleasing to look at.
Anagrams
• cosies up
Source: Wiktionary
Spe"cious, a. Etym: [L. speciosusgood-looking, beautiful, specious, fr. species look, show, appearance; cf. F. spécoeux. See Species.]
1. Presenting a pleasing appearance; pleasing in form or look; showy. Some [serpents] specious and beautiful to the eye. Bp. Richardson. The rest, far greater part, Will deem in outward rites and specious forms Religion satisfied. Milton.
2. Apparently right; superficially fair, just, or correct, but not so in reality; appearing well at first view; plausible; as, specious reasoning; a specious argument. Misled for a moment by the specious names of religion, liberty, and property. Macaulay. In consequence of their greater command of specious expression. J. Morley.
Syn.
– Plausible; showy; ostensible; colorable; feasible. See Plausible.
– Spe"xious*ly, adv.
– Spe"cious*ness, n.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
13 March 2025
ACCURATE
(adjective) conforming exactly or almost exactly to fact or to a standard or performing with total accuracy; “an accurate reproduction”; “the accounting was accurate”; “accurate measurements”; “an accurate scale”
Coffee Trivia
