Spe"cious*ness

Specious \Spe"cious\, a. [L. speciosusgood-looking, beautiful,
   specious, fr. species look, show, appearance; cf. F.
   sp['e]coeux. See {Species}.]
   1. Presenting a pleasing appearance; pleasing in form or
      look; showy.
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            Some [serpents] specious and beautiful to the eye.
                                                  --Bp.
                                                  Richardson.
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            The rest, far greater part,
            Will deem in outward rites and specious forms
            Religion satisfied.                   --Milton.
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   2. Apparently right; superficially fair, just, or correct,
      but not so in reality; appearing well at first view;
      plausible; as, specious reasoning; a specious argument.
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            Misled for a moment by the specious names of
            religion, liberty, and property.      --Macaulay.
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            In consequence of their greater command of specious
            expression.                           --J. Morley.
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   Syn: Plausible; showy; ostensible; colorable; feasible. See
        {Plausible}.
        [1913 Webster] -- {Spe"xious*ly}, adv. --
        {Spe"cious*ness}, n.
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103 Moby Thesaurus words for "speciousness":
      acting, affectation, apparent character, apparent soundness,
      appearance, appearances, attitudinizing, bluff, bluffing,
      casuistry, cheating, circularity, color, coloring, deception,
      deceptiveness, delusion, disguise, disingenuousness, display,
      dissemblance, dissembling, dissimulation, distortion,
      equivocalness, equivocation, evasive reasoning, exteriors,
      external appearance, externals, facade, face, fakery, faking,
      fallaciousness, fallacy, false air, false front, false show,
      falsity, feigning, feint, four-flushing, fraud, front, gaudiness,
      gilt, gloss, humbug, humbuggery, imposture, insincerity, jesuitism,
      jesuitry, masquerade, mere externals, meretriciousness,
      misapplication, mystification, obfuscation, obscurantism, ostent,
      ostentation, outward appearance, outward show, oversubtlety,
      perversion, philosophism, plausibility, plausibleness, playacting,
      pose, posing, posture, pretense, pretension, pretext, public image,
      rationalization, representation, seeming, semblance, sham, show,
      simulacrum, simulation, sophism, sophistical reasoning,
      sophistication, sophistry, special pleading, speciosity,
      specious reasoning, spuriousness, subtlety, superficiality,
      surface appearance, surface show, vain show, varnish,
      vicious circle, vicious reasoning, window dressing