captious reasoner

  • 1sophist — n. Quibbler, captious reasoner, fallacious reasoner, artful logician …

    New dictionary of synonyms

  • 2quibbler — n captious reasoner, caviler, hairsplitter, Inf. nitpicker, nag; equivocator, sphinx, Delphic oracle; double talker; sophist, casuist, Logic. parologist; prevaricator, liar, palterer …

    A Note on the Style of the synonym finder

  • 3Sophist — Soph ist, n. [F. sophiste, L. sophistes, fr. Gr. ?. See {Sophism}.] 1. One of a class of men who taught eloquence, philosophy, and politics in ancient Greece; especially, one of those who, by their fallacious but plausible reasoning, puzzled… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 4sophist — noun Etymology: Latin sophista, from Greek sophistēs, literally, expert, wise man, from sophizesthai to become wise, deceive, from sophos clever, wise Date: 14th century 1. philosopher 2. capitalized any of a class of ancient Greek teachers of… …

    New Collegiate Dictionary

  • 5sophist — /sof ist/, n. 1. (often cap.) Gk. Hist. a. any of a class of professional teachers in ancient Greece who gave instruction in various fields, as in general culture, rhetoric, politics, or disputation. b. a person belonging to this class at a later …

    Universalium