Associations to the word «Sophist»

Wiktionary

SOPHIST, noun. One of a class of teachers of rhetoric, philosophy, and politics in ancient Greece.
SOPHIST, noun. (loosely) A teacher who used plausible but fallacious reasoning.
SOPHIST, noun. (loosely) (by extension) One who is captious, fallacious, or deceptive in argument.

Dictionary definition

SOPHIST, noun. Any of a group of Greek philosophers and teachers in the 5th century BC who speculated on a wide range of subjects.
SOPHIST, noun. Someone whose reasoning is subtle and often specious.

Wise words

The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.
Mark Twain