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
The specious allegations to justify such mistreatment?
—
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 12 Aug. 2024
This led to a torrent of specious critiques from people like Elon Musk, J.K. Rowling, Donald Trump, and Logan Paul, all of whom falsely suggested that Khelif is a trans woman and/or that she should be barred from women’s athletic events.
—Simon Vozick-Levinson, Rolling Stone, 12 Aug. 2024
The goal of that litigation is simple: use speculative and specious legal theories to convince a jury that chain pharmacies and distribution companies should foot the bill for fixing years of ineffective and misdirected city programs and absent public health leadership.
—Lauren Sheets Jarrell, Baltimore Sun, 6 Aug. 2024
In these cases, some conservative activists did resort to specious originalist reasoning, but Dennie’s critiques aren’t primarily about applying or avoiding originalist methods.
—Kenneth W. MacK, Washington Post, 19 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for specious 
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 12 Aug. 2024
This led to a torrent of specious critiques from people like Elon Musk, J.K. Rowling, Donald Trump, and Logan Paul, all of whom falsely suggested that Khelif is a trans woman and/or that she should be barred from women’s athletic events.
—Simon Vozick-Levinson, Rolling Stone, 12 Aug. 2024
The goal of that litigation is simple: use speculative and specious legal theories to convince a jury that chain pharmacies and distribution companies should foot the bill for fixing years of ineffective and misdirected city programs and absent public health leadership.
—Lauren Sheets Jarrell, Baltimore Sun, 6 Aug. 2024
In these cases, some conservative activists did resort to specious originalist reasoning, but Dennie’s critiques aren’t primarily about applying or avoiding originalist methods.
—Kenneth W. MacK, Washington Post, 19 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for specious
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Cite this Entry
“Specious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/specious. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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