Question

the two women who loved him parted with specious expressions of confidence.
source: manusmriti
in the sentence above, specious has the same or almost the same meaning as:
optimistic
endearing
deceptive
unavailing

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze the meaning of "specious". "Specious" means appearing true or valid but actually being false or deceptive.

• "Optimistic" means hopeful/positive, not matching.
• "Endearing" means charming, not matching.
• "Deceptive" means misleading or giving a false impression, which matches "specious".
• "Unavailing" means useless, not matching.

Answer:

C. deceptive