Plausibly deceptive or fallacious reasoning (9)

I believe the answer is:

sophistry

(Other definitions for sophistry that I've seen before include "tortured reasoning" , "Subtle but misleading reasoning" , "Made-up arguments" , "using misleading arguments" , "Deceitful use of fallacious arguments" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.