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sophist definition

soph·ist (-ist)

noun

  1. in ancient Greece, any of a group of teachers of rhetoric, politics, philosophy, etc., some of whom were notorious for their clever, specious arguments
  2. any person practicing clever, specious reasoning

Etymology: L sophista < Gr sophistēs, wise man: see sophism

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

sophist Synonyms

sophist

n.

thinker, clever thinker, caviler, rhetorician; see critic 1, pedant, philosopher.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

sophist Usage Examples

Adjective modifier

  • Greek: The ancient Greek sophists, too, knew all about what would sell.
sophist usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

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"sophist." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
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sophist. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/sophist

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