The Only Use of
specious
in
1984, by Orwell
- And all the while, lest one should be in any doubt as to the reality which Goldstein's specious claptrap covered, behind his head on the telescreen there marched the endless columns of the Eurasian army — row after row of solid-looking men with expressionless Asiatic faces, who swam up to the surface of the screen and vanished, to be replaced by others exactly similar.
p. 13.1specious = seemingly good, but without merit
Definitions:
-
(1)
(specious) seemingly good, but without merit
or:
insincere, but seemingly good -
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
At one time, specious meant pleasing, but is seldom encountered with that meaning today.