"specious" meaning in English

See specious in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

IPA: /ˈspiːʃəs/ [UK, US] Audio: en-us-specious.ogg [US] Forms: more specious [comparative], most specious [superlative]
Rhymes: -iːʃəs Etymology: From Latin speciōsus (“good-looking”). Etymology templates: {{root|en|ine-pro|*speḱ-}}, {{der|en|la|speciōsus|t=good-looking}} Latin speciōsus (“good-looking”) Head templates: {{en-adj}} specious (comparative more specious, superlative most specious)
  1. Seemingly well-reasoned, plausible or true, but actually fallacious. Synonyms: fallacious Translations (seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious): благовиден (blagoviden) (Bulgarian), 似是而非 (sìshì'érfēi) (Chinese Mandarin), zdánlivý [masculine] (Czech), schoonschijnend (Dutch), misleidend (Dutch), ongegrond (Dutch), verŝajna (Esperanto), spécieux [masculine] (French), spécieuse [feminine] (French), vordergründig (German), fadenscheinig (German), unfundiert (German), leer (German), specioso [masculine] (Italian), まことしやかな (makotoshiyaka na) (Japanese), 似て非なる (nite hinaru) (Japanese), bałamutny (Polish), especioso (Portuguese), ва̏рав [Cyrillic] (Serbo-Croatian), при́видан [Cyrillic] (Serbo-Croatian), то̀божњӣ [Cyrillic] (Serbo-Croatian), ла̏жан [Cyrillic] (Serbo-Croatian), vȁrav [Roman] (Serbo-Croatian), prívidan [Roman] (Serbo-Croatian), tòbožnjī [Roman] (Serbo-Croatian), lȁžan [Roman] (Serbo-Croatian), zdanlivý (Slovak), especioso (Spanish), aldatıcı (Turkish), yanıltıcı (Turkish)
    Sense id: en-specious-en-adj-Cm8e88LW Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 15 31 19 4 31 Disambiguation of 'seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious': 75 22 2 2
  2. Employing fallacious but deceptively plausible arguments; deceitful.
    Sense id: en-specious-en-adj-vfHuRQAP Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 15 31 19 4 31
  3. Having an attractive appearance intended to generate a favorable response; deceptively attractive. Synonyms: meretricious, pretextual Translations (with appearance intended to generate a favorable response): показен (pokazen) (Bulgarian), Schein- (German), vorgeschoben (German), fadenscheinig (German), fingido (Spanish), falso (Spanish), de pretexto (Spanish), pretextado (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-specious-en-adj-WcM~I5gk Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 15 31 19 4 31 Disambiguation of 'with appearance intended to generate a favorable response': 1 2 92 4
  4. (obsolete) Beautiful, pleasing to look at. Tags: obsolete
    Sense id: en-specious-en-adj-gsUGMnVj
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: specious present, specious tiger (taxonomic: Asota speciosa) (english: a species of moth) Related terms: speciosity, speciously, speciousness, spurious
Etymology number: 1

Adjective

IPA: /ˈspiːʃəs/ [UK, US] Audio: en-us-specious.ogg [US] Forms: more specious [comparative], most specious [superlative]
Rhymes: -iːʃəs Etymology: See speciose. Etymology templates: {{m|en|speciose}} speciose Head templates: {{en-adj}} specious (comparative more specious, superlative most specious)
  1. Alternative form of speciose (“rich in species”). Tags: alt-of, alternative Alternative form of: speciose (extra: rich in species)
    Sense id: en-specious-en-adj-WD6oWzz2 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 15 31 19 4 31
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 2

Download JSON data for specious meaning in English (12.5kB)

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "specious present"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "english": "a species of moth",
      "taxonomic": "Asota speciosa",
      "word": "specious tiger"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "etymology_templates": [
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*speḱ-"
      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "root"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "speciōsus",
        "t": "good-looking"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin speciōsus (“good-looking”)",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Latin speciōsus (“good-looking”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more specious",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most specious",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "specious (comparative more specious, superlative most specious)",
      "name": "en-adj"
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  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "speciosity"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "speciously"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "speciousness"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "spurious"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "15 31 19 4 31",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "This idea that we must see through what we have started is specious, however good it may sound.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1776, Thomas Paine, Common Sense",
          "text": "I have frequently amused myself both in public and private companies, with silently remarking, the specious errors of those who speak without reflecting.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1986, John le Carré, A Perfect Spy",
          "text": "“Number two is that for reasons which I regarded at the time as specious and insulting, the Americans objected to your husband's presence on that committee not three weeks after it met, and asked me to replace him with somebody more to their liking. Since Magnus was kingpin of the Czecho operation and of several other little shows in Eastern Europe besides, this was a totally unrealistic demand.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2016 May 18, David Sims, “The Outcry Against the All-Female ‘Ghostbusters’ Remake Gets Louder”, in The Atlantic",
          "text": "Feig’s Ghostbusters isn’t out until July 15, but since the project was announced in 2014 as a reboot of the hit 1984 film[…] a vocal minority of movie fans have come up with specious reasons to criticize it.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Seemingly well-reasoned, plausible or true, but actually fallacious."
      ],
      "id": "en-specious-en-adj-Cm8e88LW",
      "links": [
        [
          "well-reasoned",
          "reasoned"
        ],
        [
          "true",
          "true"
        ],
        [
          "fallacious",
          "fallacious"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "fallacious"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "blagoviden",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "word": "благовиден"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "sìshì'érfēi",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "word": "似是而非"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "zdánlivý"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "word": "schoonschijnend"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "word": "misleidend"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "word": "ongegrond"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "eo",
          "lang": "Esperanto",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "word": "verŝajna"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "spécieux"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "spécieuse"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "word": "vordergründig"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "word": "fadenscheinig"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "word": "unfundiert"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "word": "leer"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "specioso"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "makotoshiyaka na",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "word": "まことしやかな"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "nite hinaru",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "word": "似て非なる"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "word": "bałamutny"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "word": "especioso"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "tags": [
            "Cyrillic"
          ],
          "word": "ва̏рав"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "tags": [
            "Cyrillic"
          ],
          "word": "при́видан"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "tags": [
            "Cyrillic"
          ],
          "word": "то̀божњӣ"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "tags": [
            "Cyrillic"
          ],
          "word": "ла̏жан"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "tags": [
            "Roman"
          ],
          "word": "vȁrav"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "tags": [
            "Roman"
          ],
          "word": "prívidan"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "tags": [
            "Roman"
          ],
          "word": "tòbožnjī"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "tags": [
            "Roman"
          ],
          "word": "lȁžan"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "sk",
          "lang": "Slovak",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "word": "zdanlivý"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "word": "especioso"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "word": "aldatıcı"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 22 2 2",
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
          "word": "yanıltıcı"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
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          "_dis": "15 31 19 4 31",
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          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
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            "Entry maintenance"
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      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1829, William Phelan, Mortimer O'Sullivan, “Ireland: A digest taken before Select Committees of the two Houses of Parliament, appointed to inquire into the State of Ireland, 1824—25”, in The Christian Review and Clerical Magazine, volume III, page 472",
          "text": "But a third cause of the delusion is, that the Church of Rome has become more specious and deceitful than before the Reformation.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Employing fallacious but deceptively plausible arguments; deceitful."
      ],
      "id": "en-specious-en-adj-vfHuRQAP",
      "links": [
        [
          "deceitful",
          "deceitful"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
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          "_dis": "15 31 19 4 31",
          "kind": "other",
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          "source": "w+disamb"
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      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1760, William Warburton, The Lord Bishop of Gloucester's Sermon Preached Before the Right Honourable the House of Lords, January 30, 1760, page 19",
          "text": "And could any thing be more ſpecious, or more equal, than that fair diſtribution of power and profit, which men called the NEW MODEL?",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1776, Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol I, ch 1-pt i",
          "text": "[T]he success of Trajan, however transient, was rapid and specious. The degenerate Parthians, broken by intestine discord, fled before his arms.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1788, Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 59",
          "text": "This argument, though specious, will not, upon examination, be found solid.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Having an attractive appearance intended to generate a favorable response; deceptively attractive."
      ],
      "id": "en-specious-en-adj-WcM~I5gk",
      "links": [
        [
          "attractive",
          "attractive"
        ],
        [
          "appearance",
          "appearance"
        ],
        [
          "favorable",
          "favorable"
        ],
        [
          "deceptive",
          "deceptive"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "meretricious"
        },
        {
          "word": "pretextual"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "1 2 92 4",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "pokazen",
          "sense": "with appearance intended to generate a favorable response",
          "word": "показен"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "1 2 92 4",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "with appearance intended to generate a favorable response",
          "word": "Schein-"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "1 2 92 4",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "with appearance intended to generate a favorable response",
          "word": "vorgeschoben"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "1 2 92 4",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "with appearance intended to generate a favorable response",
          "word": "fadenscheinig"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "1 2 92 4",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "with appearance intended to generate a favorable response",
          "word": "fingido"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "1 2 92 4",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "with appearance intended to generate a favorable response",
          "word": "falso"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "1 2 92 4",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "with appearance intended to generate a favorable response",
          "word": "de pretexto"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "1 2 92 4",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "with appearance intended to generate a favorable response",
          "word": "pretextado"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "glosses": [
        "Beautiful, pleasing to look at."
      ],
      "id": "en-specious-en-adj-gsUGMnVj",
      "links": [
        [
          "Beautiful",
          "beautiful"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(obsolete) Beautiful, pleasing to look at."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
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      "ipa": "/ˈspiːʃəs/",
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-iːʃəs"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-specious.ogg",
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      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/En-us-specious.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ],
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    }
  ],
  "word": "specious"
}

{
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        "2": "speciose"
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      "expansion": "speciose",
      "name": "m"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "See speciose.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more specious",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
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    },
    {
      "form": "most specious",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "extra": "rich in species",
          "word": "speciose"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "15 31 19 4 31",
          "kind": "other",
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      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2017, Imants G. Priede, “Systematic Description of Deep-Sea Fishes”, in Deep-Sea Fishes: Biology, Diversity, Ecology and Fisheries, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →DOI, page 216",
          "text": "Coelorinchus is the most specious genus of macrourids with 122 species at the time of writing and more yet to be described.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of speciose (“rich in species”)."
      ],
      "id": "en-specious-en-adj-WD6oWzz2",
      "links": [
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          "speciose",
          "speciose#English"
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      ],
      "tags": [
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  "sounds": [
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      "ipa": "/ˈspiːʃəs/",
      "tags": [
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    {
      "audio": "en-us-specious.ogg",
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      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/En-us-specious.ogg",
      "tags": [
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  "word": "specious"
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{
  "categories": [
    "English 2-syllable words",
    "English adjectives",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English terms derived from Latin",
    "English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European",
    "English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *speḱ-",
    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "Rhymes:English/iːʃəs",
    "Rhymes:English/iːʃəs/2 syllables"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "specious present"
    },
    {
      "english": "a species of moth",
      "taxonomic": "Asota speciosa",
      "word": "specious tiger"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "etymology_templates": [
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      "expansion": "",
      "name": "root"
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    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "speciōsus",
        "t": "good-looking"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin speciōsus (“good-looking”)",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Latin speciōsus (“good-looking”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more specious",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most specious",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "specious (comparative more specious, superlative most specious)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "speciosity"
    },
    {
      "word": "speciously"
    },
    {
      "word": "speciousness"
    },
    {
      "word": "spurious"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "This idea that we must see through what we have started is specious, however good it may sound.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1776, Thomas Paine, Common Sense",
          "text": "I have frequently amused myself both in public and private companies, with silently remarking, the specious errors of those who speak without reflecting.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1986, John le Carré, A Perfect Spy",
          "text": "“Number two is that for reasons which I regarded at the time as specious and insulting, the Americans objected to your husband's presence on that committee not three weeks after it met, and asked me to replace him with somebody more to their liking. Since Magnus was kingpin of the Czecho operation and of several other little shows in Eastern Europe besides, this was a totally unrealistic demand.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2016 May 18, David Sims, “The Outcry Against the All-Female ‘Ghostbusters’ Remake Gets Louder”, in The Atlantic",
          "text": "Feig’s Ghostbusters isn’t out until July 15, but since the project was announced in 2014 as a reboot of the hit 1984 film[…] a vocal minority of movie fans have come up with specious reasons to criticize it.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Seemingly well-reasoned, plausible or true, but actually fallacious."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "well-reasoned",
          "reasoned"
        ],
        [
          "true",
          "true"
        ],
        [
          "fallacious",
          "fallacious"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "fallacious"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1829, William Phelan, Mortimer O'Sullivan, “Ireland: A digest taken before Select Committees of the two Houses of Parliament, appointed to inquire into the State of Ireland, 1824—25”, in The Christian Review and Clerical Magazine, volume III, page 472",
          "text": "But a third cause of the delusion is, that the Church of Rome has become more specious and deceitful than before the Reformation.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Employing fallacious but deceptively plausible arguments; deceitful."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "deceitful",
          "deceitful"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1760, William Warburton, The Lord Bishop of Gloucester's Sermon Preached Before the Right Honourable the House of Lords, January 30, 1760, page 19",
          "text": "And could any thing be more ſpecious, or more equal, than that fair diſtribution of power and profit, which men called the NEW MODEL?",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1776, Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol I, ch 1-pt i",
          "text": "[T]he success of Trajan, however transient, was rapid and specious. The degenerate Parthians, broken by intestine discord, fled before his arms.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1788, Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 59",
          "text": "This argument, though specious, will not, upon examination, be found solid.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Having an attractive appearance intended to generate a favorable response; deceptively attractive."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "attractive",
          "attractive"
        ],
        [
          "appearance",
          "appearance"
        ],
        [
          "favorable",
          "favorable"
        ],
        [
          "deceptive",
          "deceptive"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "meretricious"
        },
        {
          "word": "pretextual"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with obsolete senses"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Beautiful, pleasing to look at."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Beautiful",
          "beautiful"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(obsolete) Beautiful, pleasing to look at."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈspiːʃəs/",
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-iːʃəs"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-specious.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/1e/En-us-specious.ogg/En-us-specious.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/En-us-specious.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (US)"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "blagoviden",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "word": "благовиден"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "sìshì'érfēi",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "word": "似是而非"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "zdánlivý"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "word": "schoonschijnend"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "word": "misleidend"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "word": "ongegrond"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "word": "verŝajna"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "spécieux"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "spécieuse"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "word": "vordergründig"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "word": "fadenscheinig"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "word": "unfundiert"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "word": "leer"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "specioso"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "makotoshiyaka na",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "word": "まことしやかな"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "nite hinaru",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "word": "似て非なる"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "word": "bałamutny"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "word": "especioso"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "tags": [
        "Cyrillic"
      ],
      "word": "ва̏рав"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "tags": [
        "Cyrillic"
      ],
      "word": "при́видан"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "tags": [
        "Cyrillic"
      ],
      "word": "то̀божњӣ"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "tags": [
        "Cyrillic"
      ],
      "word": "ла̏жан"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "tags": [
        "Roman"
      ],
      "word": "vȁrav"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "tags": [
        "Roman"
      ],
      "word": "prívidan"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "tags": [
        "Roman"
      ],
      "word": "tòbožnjī"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "tags": [
        "Roman"
      ],
      "word": "lȁžan"
    },
    {
      "code": "sk",
      "lang": "Slovak",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "word": "zdanlivý"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "word": "especioso"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "word": "aldatıcı"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious",
      "word": "yanıltıcı"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "pokazen",
      "sense": "with appearance intended to generate a favorable response",
      "word": "показен"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "with appearance intended to generate a favorable response",
      "word": "Schein-"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "with appearance intended to generate a favorable response",
      "word": "vorgeschoben"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "with appearance intended to generate a favorable response",
      "word": "fadenscheinig"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "with appearance intended to generate a favorable response",
      "word": "fingido"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "with appearance intended to generate a favorable response",
      "word": "falso"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "with appearance intended to generate a favorable response",
      "word": "de pretexto"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "with appearance intended to generate a favorable response",
      "word": "pretextado"
    }
  ],
  "word": "specious"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English 2-syllable words",
    "English adjectives",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "Rhymes:English/iːʃəs",
    "Rhymes:English/iːʃəs/2 syllables"
  ],
  "etymology_number": 2,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "speciose"
      },
      "expansion": "speciose",
      "name": "m"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "See speciose.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more specious",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most specious",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "specious (comparative more specious, superlative most specious)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "extra": "rich in species",
          "word": "speciose"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2017, Imants G. Priede, “Systematic Description of Deep-Sea Fishes”, in Deep-Sea Fishes: Biology, Diversity, Ecology and Fisheries, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →DOI, page 216",
          "text": "Coelorinchus is the most specious genus of macrourids with 122 species at the time of writing and more yet to be described.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of speciose (“rich in species”)."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "speciose",
          "speciose#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈspiːʃəs/",
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-iːʃəs"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-specious.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/1e/En-us-specious.ogg/En-us-specious.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/En-us-specious.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (US)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "specious"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-01 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.