as in misleading
tending or having power to deceive
a specious argument that really does not stand up under close examination
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Recent Examples of specious
All the effort of life, disguised as specious, distracted entertainment.
—
Leo Barraclough, Variety, 4 Aug. 2025
This is primarily due to an unbalanced shift to new generation sources requiring 24/7 backup from traditional generation sources, which were too soon taken out of service based on specious assumptions about a trace atmospheric gas.
—Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 2 Aug. 2025
This post will attempt to separate the fundamentals of what just happened to NPR and PBS from the noise and the chaotic politics of the moment that led to the defunding — bearing in mind that there have been plenty of specious arguments and claims on both sides of the issue.
—Andy Meek, Forbes.com, 19 July 2025
Federal Judge Randolph Moss struck down the Trump administration’s near total ban on asylum under the specious argument that the country was under invasion.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 7 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for specious
Leo Barraclough, Variety, 4 Aug. 2025
This is primarily due to an unbalanced shift to new generation sources requiring 24/7 backup from traditional generation sources, which were too soon taken out of service based on specious assumptions about a trace atmospheric gas.
—Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 2 Aug. 2025
This post will attempt to separate the fundamentals of what just happened to NPR and PBS from the noise and the chaotic politics of the moment that led to the defunding — bearing in mind that there have been plenty of specious arguments and claims on both sides of the issue.
—Andy Meek, Forbes.com, 19 July 2025
Federal Judge Randolph Moss struck down the Trump administration’s near total ban on asylum under the specious argument that the country was under invasion.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 7 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for specious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for specious
Adjective
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Trump has initiated a flurry of defamation lawsuits against media companies, accusing them of false or misleading coverage.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
16 Sep. 2025
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In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Hinton challenged the optimistic visions promoted by Silicon Valley leaders, suggesting that much of the upbeat narrative about AI’s societal benefits is, at best, misleading.—
Tim Bajarin,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Meanwhile, a group of states led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton separately sued Google for anticompetitive and deceptive practices in its ad business.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
12 Sep. 2025
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Katie’s denial was once again found to be deceptive.—
Liza Esquibias,
PEOPLE,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The false assurance was more than a slip.—
Eric Tucker,
Twin Cities,
13 Sep. 2025
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Robinson, the founder of the now-defunct anti-immigration English Defence League (EDL), was released from prison earlier this year, having been jailed for being in contempt of court by repeating false accusations about a Syrian refugee.—
Catherine Nicholls,
CNN Money,
13 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Specious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/specious. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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