sophist

noun

soph·​ist ˈsä-fist 

1

: philosopher

2

capitalized : any of a class of ancient Greek teachers of rhetoric, philosophy, and the art of successful living prominent about the middle of the fifth century b.c. for their adroit subtle and allegedly often specious reasoning

3

: a captious or fallacious reasoner

Examples of sophist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But what of the apologists for madness and criminality, the comfortable sophists who invert morality to score partisan points? —Matthew Continetti, National Review, 14 Dec. 2024

The new technologies have given these sophists a megaphone of unparalleled power. —Michael Ignatieff, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2010

And if the exposition of the counter-intuitive position is placed in the hands of a cunning sophist, and the one who endorses common sense is plain and less learned, then the battle is already lost before it is begun. —Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 3 Jan. 2013

The hybrid of the Post Modern inflected scholar and public intellectual is ultimately a gnostic sophist of the highest order, transmuting plain if unpalatable truths about the world into a murky cultic potion. —Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 29 Dec. 2011

In Plato’s most famous dialogue, the Republic, Socrates falls into conversation with the bold and intimidating Thrasymachus, who is a sophist—that is, one who offers instructions on how to argue a case, no matter its merit. —Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, WSJ, 15 Mar. 2018

Not even the most shameless sophist will argue that anything like that happened. —Hugh Hewitt, The Denver Post, 10 Mar. 2017

Word History

Etymology

Latin sophista, from Greek sophistēs, literally, expert, wise man, from sophizesthai to become wise, deceive, from sophos clever, wise

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

sophist

noun

soph·​ist ˈsäf-əst 

: one who argues by the use of sophisms