SOPHISTRY Synonyms: 80 Similar and Opposite Words

sophistry

noun

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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Example Sentences

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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. —

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

The ruling opens the door to discovery on Paramount’s understanding of its deal with WBD and whether the company took fraudulent measures to take advantage of ambiguity in the contract.

— Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Jan. 2025
This state of ambiguity often leads to avoidance behavior, where people choose to stick with familiar but less desirable options because the unknown feels riskier.

— Tess Brigham, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2025