sophist

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“
My advice then is to mistrust the sonorous catch-words (13) of the sophist, and not to despise the reasoned conclusions (14) of the philosopher; for the sophist is a hunter after the rich and young, the philosopher is the common friend of all; he neither honours nor despises the fortunes of men 12) L. Dind. cf. Eur. "Heracl."

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Definitions (9)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. noun One skilled in elaborate and devious argumentation.
  2. noun A scholar or thinker.
  3. noun Any of a group of professional fifth-century B.C. Greek philosophers and teachers who speculated on theology, metaphysics, and the sciences, and who were later characterized by Plato as superficial manipulators of rhetoric and dialectic.

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Examples (50)

  • He himself was a young sophist, and at the same time a true comedian, adapting his behaviour to whomsoever he might happen to be addressing, winning over the person in question by striking his particular note and showing that side of his character with which he could best please him. —  Recollections Of My Childhood And Youth
  • When in a playful mood he chose to use the weapons of the sophist, the ablest men feared the ticklish game and fought shy, and where the line lay between truth and error it was impossible to find out; and he was equally skilful in unravelling the sophistry of others, dissecting it asunder with the keenest relish and with exquisite skill. —  Discourse of the Life and Character of the Hon. Littleton Waller Tazewell
  • You are defending his bigotry by defining it's content as "he just didn't know". well fellas he came here for a prop and he got one (sophist) and now he's gone into the bathroom to say it to himself over and over again in the mirror. —  Think Progress
  • The word "soph" once had a high and honorable distinction, but now it is used to point a moral, and the synonym of sophomore is soft Originally the sophist was a lover of truth; then he became a lover of words that concealed truth, and the chief end of his existence was to balance a feather on his nose and keep three balls in the air for the astonishment and admiration of the bystanders Education is something else Education is growth, development, life in abundance, creation We grow only through exercise. —  Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great Philosophers, Volume 8
  • The evangelicals disliked Mr. Gladstone. The plain high-and-dry men distrusted him as what they called a sophist. —  The Life of William Ewart Gladstone, Vol. 1 (of 3) 1809-1859
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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English sophiste, from Latin sophista, from Greek sophistēs, from sophizesthai, to become wise, from sophos, clever.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. In Middle English sophister, q. v.; from French sophiste = Provencal sophista = Spanish sofista = Portuguese sophista, sofista = Italian sofista = Dutch sofist = German sophist = Swedish Danish sofist, from Late Latin sophista, a sophist, from Greek σοφισ, σ1τής, a master of one's craft, a wise or prudent man, a teacher of arts and sciences for money, a sophist (see def. 2), from σοφίζειν, make wise, instruct, in passive be or become wise, dep. deal or argue subtly, be a sophist, from σοφός, skilled, intelligent, learned, clever, wise; cf. σαφής, clear; perhaps akin to L. sapere, taste, later sapiens, wise: see sapient.
 

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/ˈsɑfɪst/
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