specious

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 26, 2022 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>specious</strong> &#149; \SPEE-shuss\&nbsp; &#149; <em>adjective</em><br /> <p><em>Specious</em> means "having deceptive attraction or allure" or "having a false look of truth or genuineness."</p> <p>// The new streamlined design of the phone is <em>specious</em>: it may look new, but its innards are the same, offering no new capabilities or improvements.</p> <p>// The suspect insisted he was telling the truth, but the detective felt his statements were <em>specious</em>.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/specious">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"Just 10 years after the Telecommunication Act of 1996 unleashed mergers under the <em>specious</em> assumption that size and concentration could improve services and spur innovation, large media companies had gobbled up book publishers, television and cable networks, radio stations, and internet ventures." — Siva Vaidhyanathan, <em>Slate</em>, 21 May 2021</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p><em>Specious</em> comes from Latin <em>speciosus</em>, meaning "beautiful" or "plausible," and Middle English speakers used it to mean "visually pleasing." In time, <em>specious</em> had begun to suggest an attractiveness that was superficial or deceptive, and, subsequently, the word's neutral "pleasing" sense faded into obsolescence.</p> <br /><br /> </p> </font>