sophist

soph·ist  (sfst)

n.

1.

a. One skilled in elaborate and devious argumentation.

b. A scholar or thinker.

2. Sophist Any of a group of professional fifth-century b.c. Greek philosophers and teachers who speculated on theology, metaphysics, and the sciences, and who were later characterized by Plato as superficial manipulators of rhetoric and dialectic.

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[Middle English sophiste, from Latin sophista, from Greek sophists, from sophizesthai, to become wise, from sophos, clever.]

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sophist

Noun

a person who uses clever but false arguments [Greek sophistēs a wise man]

sophistic adj

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sophist

1. Ancient Greece. a teacher of rhetoric, philosophy, etc.; hence, a learned person.
2. one who is given to the specious arguments often used by the sophists.

See also: Rhetoric and Rhetorical Devices

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1. Ancient Greece. a teacher of rhetoric, philosophy, etc; hence, a learned person.
2. one who is given to the specious arguments often used by the sophists.

See also: Argumentation

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1. Ancient Greece. a teacher of rhetoric, philosophy, etc.; hence, a learned person.
2. one who is given to the specious arguments often used by the sophists. — sophistic, sophistical, adj.

See also: Learning

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	Sophist - any of a group of Greek philosophers and teachers in the 5th century BC who speculated on a wide range of subjects philosopher - a specialist in philosophy
	2.	sophist - someone whose reasoning is subtle and often specious casuist ratiocinator, reasoner - someone who reasons logically