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sophist
(redirected from Sophists)

   Also found in: Legal, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
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.

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

sophist [ˈsɒfɪst]
n
1. (Philosophy) (often capital) one of the pre-Socratic philosophers who were itinerant professional teachers of oratory and argument and who were prepared to enter into debate on any matter however specious
2. a person who uses clever or quibbling arguments that are fundamentally unsound
[from Latin sophista, from Greek sophistēs a wise man, from sophizesthai to act craftily]

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
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
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
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.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
ratiocinator, reasoner - someone who reasons logically
Translations
sophist [ˈsɒfɪst] Nsofista mf
sophist
nSophist(in) m(f)


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