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apocryphal

[ uh-pok-ruh-fuh l ]
/ əˈpɒk rə fəl /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR apocryphal ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of doubtful authorship or authenticity.
Ecclesiastical.
  1. (initial capital letter)of or relating to the Apocrypha.
  2. of doubtful sanction; uncanonical.
false; spurious: He told an apocryphal story about the sword, but the truth was later revealed.

RELATED WORDS

mythical, untrue, unsubstantiated, inaccurate, fictitious, counterfeit, doubtful, dubious, equivocal, spurious, unverified, wrong, false, unauthenticated, ungenuine

Nearby words

  1. apocrine chromesthesia,
  2. apocrine gland,
  3. apocrine metaplasia,
  4. apocrine sweat gland,
  5. apocrypha,
  6. apocryphal gospels,
  7. apocynaceous,
  8. apocynthion,
  9. apodal,
  10. apodeictic

Origin of apocryphal

First recorded in 1580–90; apocryph(a) + -al1
Related formsa·poc·ry·phal·ly, adverba·poc·ry·phal·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for apocryphal

British Dictionary definitions for apocryphal

apocryphal

/ (əˈpɒkrɪfəl) /

adjective

of questionable authenticity
(sometimes capital) of or like the Apocrypha
untrue; counterfeit
Derived Formsapocryphally, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for apocryphal

apocryphal

adj.

1580s, "of doubtful authenticity," from Apocrypha + -al (1). Middle English had apocrive (late 14c.) in same sense.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper