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apocryphal

[ uh-pok-ruh-fuh l ]
/ əˈpɒk rə fəl /
SEE 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.

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Origin of apocryphal

First recorded in 1580–90; apocryph(a) + -al1

OTHER WORDS FROM apocryphal

a·poc·ry·phal·ly, adverba·poc·ry·phal·ness, noun

Words nearby apocryphal

apocrine chromesthesia, apocrine gland, apocrine metaplasia, apocrine sweat gland, apocrypha, apocryphal, apocryphal gospels, apocynaceous, apocynthion, apodal, apodeictic
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to apocryphal

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

Example sentences 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 forms of apocryphal

apocryphally, 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