Specious

By Deane Barker • • tags: definition •

Definition: having a false look of truth or genuineness

It comes from the Latin word meaning “beautiful.” The implication is that it’s something that looks good on the surface.

Why I Looked It Up

I was researching what to call things like The Lost Cause Argument or Donald Trump’s lies about the 2020 election. I posted a question to the English Stack Exchange, and this was one of the answers (actually, a comment).

Several people also mentioned “truthiness.”

Links both to and from this – The Lost Cause Argument May 6, 2023
This is a view of history that attempts to paint the Confederacy and its role in the American Civil War in the best possible light. It emerged sometime after the war, when southerners were trying to recover from the damage of the war and rationalize why it was fought. The “lost cause” means that...