sophistry — I noun casuistry, cavil, chicanery, deception, distortion, equivocation, evasion, evasive reasoning, fallacious reasoning, false logic, misrepresentation, specious reasoning II index casuistry, fallacy, non sequitur, subterfuge … Law dictionary
sophistry — mid 14c., from O.Fr. sophistrie, from M.L. sophistria, from L. sophista, sophistes (see SOPHIST (Cf. sophist)) … Etymology dictionary
sophistry — *fallacy, sophism, casuistry Analogous words: plausibility, speciousness (see corresponding adjectives at PLAUSIBLE): equivocation, *ambiguity, tergiversation: evading or evasion, avoiding or avoidance (see corresponding verbs at ESCAPE) … New Dictionary of Synonyms
sophistry — ► NOUN (pl. sophistries) 1) the use of false arguments, especially to deceive. 2) a false argument … English terms dictionary
sophistry — [säf′is trē] n. pl. sophistries [ME sophistrie < ML sophistria] 1. unsound or misleading but clever, plausible, and subtle argument or reasoning; sophism 2. the methods or practices of the Sophists … English World dictionary
sophistry — n. 1) pure sophistry 2) sophistry to + inf. (it s pure sophistry to rationalize such behavior) * * * [ sɒfɪstrɪ] pure sophistry sophistry to + inf. (it s pure sophistry to rationalize such behavior) … Combinatory dictionary
sophistry — soph|ist|ry [ˈsɔfıstri US ˈsa: ] n plural sophistries [U and C] formal [Date: 1300 1400; : Medieval Latin; Origin: sophistria, from Latin sophista one who uses sophistry , from Greek sophistes wise man, teacher of knowledge, user of sophistry ,… … Dictionary of contemporary English
sophistry — [[t]sɒ̱fɪstri[/t]] N UNCOUNT Sophistry is the practice of using clever arguments that sound convincing but are in fact false. [FORMAL] Political selection is more dependent on sophistry and less on economic literacy … English dictionary
sophistry — UK [ˈsɒfɪstrɪ] / US [ˈsɑfɪstrɪ] noun [countable/uncountable] Word forms sophistry : singular sophistry plural sophistries formal arguments or explanations that seem clever and correct but are really false and used for tricking people … English dictionary
sophistry — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) n. sophism; false or specious reasoning; casuistry; fallaciousness, paralogism; shift, subterfuge, equivocation; absurdity, inconsistency; hair splitting. See falsehood. II (Roget s IV) n. Syn. sophism,… … English dictionary for students
