sophistical

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adjective

Pertaining to a sophist or sophistry.

RareScrabble 18

Meanings

adjectivesophistical (comparative more sophistical, superlative most sophistical)

comparative more sophistical · superlative most sophistical

  1. Pertaining to a sophist or sophistry.
  2. Fallacious, misleading or incorrect in logic or reasoning, especially intentionally.

    Assuming other people to be as sophistical as ourselves, and as intent as we upon winning the argument, they are likely to be no more honest than we.

    2011, Theodore Dalrymple, Spoilt Rotten: The Toxic Cult of Sentimentality
    1 more example

    This is, we believe, a fair summary of Mr. Lamb's doctrine. We are sure that we do not wish to represent him unfairly. […] But we must plainly say that his argument, though ingenious, is altogether sophistical.

    1841, Thomas Macaulay, Lord Byron and The Comic Dramatists of the Restoration

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar

adjectiveplausible but misleading

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinsophisticālis
  2. Middle Englishsophistical
  3. Englishsophistical

From Middle English sophistical, sophisticale, sophisticall, from Anglo-Latin sophisticālis, equivalent to sophist + -ical.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

sophistical. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sophistical

MLA

“sophistical.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sophistical. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sophistical,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sophistical.

Source: sophistical on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.