Synonyms for sophistry
Most common
excuse casuistry sophism casuistics fallacy chicanery sophistication perversion
Synonyms by meaning
Noun
1. Excuse — plausible yet fallacious argumentation or reasoning
Definitions
- n. 1
Plausible yet fallacious argumentation or reasoning.
- n. 2
The actions or arguments of a sophist.
Related words
- Word family
- sophism sophist sophistication
Forms
- Plural
- sophistries → excuses, casuistries, sophisms, chicaneries…
Choose the right word
A fallacy is an argument which professes to be decisive, but in reality is not; sophistry is also false reasoning, but of so specious and subtle a kind as to render it difficult to expose its fallacy. Many fallacies are obvious, but the evil of sophistry lies in its consummate art.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Example sentences
- excuse Excuse me, but where is the men's shoe department?
- fallacy That's not a valid argument. It's a logical fallacy.
- chicanery Dennis was known for chicanery and sleight-of-hand.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| sophistry | steady | |
| excuse | rising | |
| casuistry | steady | |
| sophism | steady | |
| casuistics | steady | |
| fallacy | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 6 letters
- excuse2, pilpul
- 7 letters
- evasion3, fallacy3, sophism
- 8 letters
- paralogy
- 9 letters
- deception3, chicanery4, casuistry, pilpulism
- 10 letters
- distortion3, perversion3, casuistics, paralogism
- 14 letters
- sophistication5
- 15 letters
- sophisticalness
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (excuse2 = 2 syllables).