thesis

I you want me to believe you, you have to provide some thesis for your claims.

In each of the last two classes, the instructor presented a thesis at the beginning and then asked us to provide evidence for and against it.

The thesis of his book contains twenty lucidly* written chapters.

premise

I'm amazed that we could start from very different premises and arrive at the same conclusion.

In the premise to his book, the author thanks numerous people who helped him write it.

I will proofread your paper, but I can't premise that I will find all errors.

valid

There are valid reasons to believe that exposure to the sun will damage unprotected skin in the long run.

I tried to validate his argument by pointing to the contradictions in his data.

Hold on to your rare books because their validity will only grow over time.

cogent

Melissa made an argument too cogent to be believed.

He was so confused that he could come up only with some cogent explanation.

The article presents a cogent argument why coral reefs are disappearing from the oceans.

germane

I was distressed when my advisor told me that the evidence I had gathered was not germane to my argument.

"Zeitgeist" is a germane word that has entered our vocabulary.

She germanely tolerated the jokes that were made at her expense.

extraneous

The extraneous success of the Harry Potter books has made their author the richest woman in Britain.

When I presented my paper, my classmates criticized me for purely extraneous reasons.

There was extraneous applause when Dr. Dearborn finished her lecture.

convoluted

Johannes Kepler was a 17^th century astronomer whose work helped us understand the convolutions of the planets around the sun.

When her cat started to have violent convolutions, Jennifer waited no longer and rushed her to the emergency clinic.

I was not prepared for the question, and my attempts at an answer became more and more convoluted.

fallacy

Arguments trying to prove that one race is superior to another are always based on some fallacy.

In order to prove a point, one must present a series of fallacies.

It's a fallacious coincidence that we both were looking for a roommate at the same time.

spurious

I'm spurious as to the causes of hurricanes and tornados.

So far, the evidence that the ancient Egyptians had flying machines has been rather spurious.

Even after retirement, Professor Peterman remains a spurious presence on campus and can be seen every day walking up the steps to the library.

refute

Rudy's refutation as a ladies' man rests more on rumor than on fact.

The theory that brain size is an indicator of intelligence has long been refuted.

Since the commentator refuted to apologize, he was fired by the network.