as in ambiguity
reasoning or arguments that sound correct but are actually false
She said that many of the points made during the debate were pure sophistry.
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Recent Examples of sophistry
Many of Khan’s progressive allies have floated a much more realistic cure for Khan’s abysmal litigation track record: to rewrite antitrust laws in Congress, where laws are made, instead of losing case after case in court with tortured legalistic sophistry and ad hoc judicial rulemaking.
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Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 7 Dec. 2023
Dickie, a student at Trinity College, wanders into a club debate, where he’s bewitched by the quicksilver sophistry of one of his peers, Willie, who is openly gay.
—Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2023
While much of the book is devoted to contrasting the subtle reality of judicial decision-making with the crude portrayal that increasingly dominates popular discourse, the subtleties to which Breyer draws our attention are mostly sophistry—as Breyer more or less concedes.
—Ryan D. Doerfler, The New Republic, 13 Oct. 2021
People know just enough to engage in sophistry so as to confuse and convince the choir, and bluster among the ignorant.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 15 Sep. 2013
See all Example Sentences for sophistry 
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 7 Dec. 2023
Dickie, a student at Trinity College, wanders into a club debate, where he’s bewitched by the quicksilver sophistry of one of his peers, Willie, who is openly gay.
—Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2023
While much of the book is devoted to contrasting the subtle reality of judicial decision-making with the crude portrayal that increasingly dominates popular discourse, the subtleties to which Breyer draws our attention are mostly sophistry—as Breyer more or less concedes.
—Ryan D. Doerfler, The New Republic, 13 Oct. 2021
People know just enough to engage in sophistry so as to confuse and convince the choir, and bluster among the ignorant.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 15 Sep. 2013
See all Example Sentences for sophistry
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sophistry
Noun
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Where American Primeval has at least allowed a sliver of ambiguity when portraying whether or not Young was complicit in the massacre’s cover-up until now, there’s none of that here.Keith Phipps, Vulture, 10 Jan. 2025
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The pleasure mostly derives from picking out the remaining ambiguities, especially related to the film’s flash-forward coda; the finale has already inspired a lot of heated social-media debate over its intention.David Sims, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Langenberg’s sharp slider and 92-94 mph fastball lead a five-pitch mix, and his low arm slot adds some deception.Aaron Gleeman, The Athletic, 8 Jan. 2025
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This democratization of deception tools means threats can come from anywhere—disgruntled employees, competitors or opportunistic individuals—not just sophisticated state actors or cybercrime rings.Joseph Ours, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The set-up almost sounds like a zany comedy, but sometimes fact is actually stranger than fiction.Scott Phillips, Forbes, 4 Jan. 2025
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These include works of memoir, mystery, horror, history, translation and fiction from a range of publishers including the largest to the independents.Michael Schaub, Orange County Register, 2 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near sophistry
Cite this Entry
“Sophistry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sophistry. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
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