לדלג לתוכן הראשי

adjective

specious

superficially plausible but actually wrong

In a sentence

Six example sentences with specious, each labelled with its topic.

  • Zeno's argument that motion is impossible sounds airtight until you notice the specious step hidden in the third premise.

    Philosophy

  • Doubling the assumed growth rate makes the project look profitable, but that is a specious result resting on one implausible number.

    Economics

  • The defense rested on a specious analogy that collapsed the moment the judge asked which statute actually governed the case.

    Law

  • The fund's specious pitch showed ten years of gains but quietly left out the two years it lost half its value.

    Finance

  • The growth chart was specious: every free signup was counted as a customer, though fewer than one in fifty ever paid.

    Startups

  • Ice cream sales and drownings rise together each summer, a specious link that vanishes once you account for hot weather.

    Science

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Found in these word lists

Found in 10 published word listsRecognized

Each source is a published word list that contains specious. No exam board publishes an official GRE, GMAT or SAT list; GMAT words come from GRE lists and the Academic Word List.