apocryphal
Americanadjective
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of doubtful authorship or authenticity.
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Ecclesiastical.
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(initial capital letter) of or relating to the Apocrypha.
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of doubtful sanction; uncanonical.
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false; spurious.
He told an apocryphal story about the sword, but the truth was later revealed.
adjective
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of questionable authenticity
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(sometimes capital) of or like the Apocrypha
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untrue; counterfeit
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of apocryphal
First recorded in 1580–90; apocryph(a) + -al 1
Explanation
Urban legends — stories about phantom hitchhikers, deep-fried rats, and spider eggs in bubblegum — are classic examples of apocryphal tales. They're told as if they're true, but no one can ever verify their origins or authenticity. Today, any dubious or unverifiable story may be dismissed as apocryphal. Originally, however, apocryphal was reserved for religious writings that were not included in the Torah or the New Testament of the Bible because the divinity of the texts was not certain. These texts are known as the Apocrypha and are included in the Septuagint (a Greek version of the Hebrew Bible) and the Vulgate (a Latin Bible edited in the 4th century).
Vocabulary lists containing apocryphal
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Fake It 'Til You Make It: Synonyms for "False"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Havel tells the apocryphal story of a greengrocer who refuses to place a sign proclaiming “Workers of the world, unite!” in his shop window.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026
Writer-director Lotfy Nathan’s inspiration is an apocryphal 2nd century text called the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, which purports to describe the incident-filled childhood of a temperamental Jesus.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2025
Maybe it’s time to revive the old, possibly apocryphal Red Auerbach legends about fire alarms and turning off the air conditioning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2025
What of President Jackson's likely apocryphal rebuttal of the power of the courts, that they don't have an army to make him follow their rulings?
From Salon ● Feb. 19, 2025
In one possibly apocryphal story, doctors once trained a homeless man to do routine lab tests because there was no one else available.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
