Examkin

Question

Difficulty: HardContext Clues for Synonyms

Although the vendor's presentation offered specious arguments that seemed plausible at first glance, a detailed technical audit revealed fundamental architectural flaws and deceptive benchmarks. In this sentence, the word specious most nearly means:

  1. A
    genuine
  2. B
    spacious
  3. misleadingAnswer
  4. D
    elaborate

Answer

misleading
The correct answer is 'misleading' because the context contrasts arguments that 'seemed plausible at first glance' with the audit's discovery of 'deceptive benchmarks.' In vocabulary usage, 'specious' means superficially plausible but fundamentally wrong or deceptive.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the sentence structure and identify contextual transition markers.
The subordinating conjunction 'Although' sets up a contrast between how the arguments appeared ('seemed plausible at first glance') and what they actually were.
Contrast clues signal that the true quality of the arguments is the opposite of superficial plausibility.
2
Examine the restatement and consequence clues in the main clause.
The technical audit uncovered 'fundamental architectural flaws and deceptive benchmarks.'
These descriptive phrases define the underlying nature of the arguments as false and invalid.
3
Select the option that matches the meaning of appearing correct on the surface while being deceptively flawed.
'Misleading' accurately captures the definition of 'specious' in this context.
Replacing 'specious' with 'misleading' preserves the logical flow and meaning of the sentence.

Key Concept

Using contrast and descriptive context clues to deduce contextual synonyms
Estimated Time:45s
Rate this question

Topics

Context Clues for Synonyms

More questions from this topic