apocryphal

adjective

apoc·ry·phal ə-ˈpä-krə-fəl How to pronounce apocryphal (audio)

: of doubtful authenticity : spurious

an apocryphal story about George Washington

often capitalized : of or resembling the Apocrypha

Apocryphal books of the Old Testament

apocryphally

ə-ˈpä-krə-fə-lē How to pronounce apocryphal (audio)

adverb

apocryphalness noun

Did you know?

In Bible study, the term Apocrypha refers to sections of the Bible that are not sanctioned as belonging to certain official canons. In some Protestant versions, these sections appear between the Old and New Testaments. More generally, the word refers to writings or statements whose purported origin is in doubt. Consequently, the adjective apocryphal describes things like legends and anecdotes that are purported to be true by way of repeated tellings but that have never been proven or verified and, therefore, most likely are not factual. Both apocrypha and apocryphal derive, via Latin, from the Greek verbal adjective apokrýptein, meaning "to hide (from), keep hidden (from)," from krýptein ("to conceal, hide").

Example Sentences

During these men's professional lives, Wall Street has become accustomed to getting what it wants from Washington. America's top bankers have an even longer history of not giving a hoot what the public thinks. Sample (possibly apocryphal) quote from the original J.P. Morgan: " I owe the public nothing."

Daniel Gross, Newsweek, 23 Feb. 2009 True or apocryphal, the story of the invention of the fried Ipswich clam—Mr. Woodman, faced with a huge vat of hot oil for his potato chips and a mess of clams harvested from the mud flats of his home town, reportedly had a eureka moment—is unabashed gospel for lovers of this regional specialty.

Nancy Harmon Jenkins, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2002 There is a story, perhaps apocryphal, about Leonard Bernstein and tax returns. On the line that asked him to list his profession, Bernstein didn't write "conductor" or "composer," or "pianist," or "teacher." He simply wrote, "musician."

Bari Walsh, Bostonia, Winter 2000-2001 an apocryphal story about the president's childhood

Recent Examples on the Web Some of her detractors spread the perhaps apocryphal story that Ms. Newton-John, on a visit to the country music capital, was excited to meet Hank Williams, the country legend who had been in his grave for 20 years.

Adam Bernstein, Washington Post, 8 Aug. 2022 One charming, if perhaps apocryphal, story claims that the first person to paddle out was none other than Duke Kahanamoku, in 1912.

The New Yorker, 29 July 2022 Then there were the apocryphal stories about the money, ones that ran around the junior staff.

Jamie Fewery, Harper’s Magazine , 22 June 2022 An apocryphal book of the Bible recounts the time Satan attempted to destroy the world’s original woman so that the human race would be unable to multiply.

Pat Myers, Washington Post, 14 July 2022 The Ty Herndon story, the way it's told in Nashville, is almost apocryphal.

Jason Sheeler, PEOPLE.com, 17 June 2022 The Twilight World begins with one of Herzog’s favorite framing devices: a possibly apocryphal story involving himself.

Ryu Spaeth, The New Republic, 2 June 2022 Phillips named her book for a (probably apocryphal) story about Neel as a young mother.

Hillary Kelly, The Atlantic, 8 May 2022 William Howard Taft, too often reduced to an apocryphal story of getting stuck in the White House bathtub, served as chief justice of the Supreme Court.

Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Apr. 2022 See More

apocryphal

adjective

as in unauthentic

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

unauthentic
speculative
hypothetical
fanciful
legendary
mythical
fictional
unhistorical
fictitious
fictionalized
imaginary
nonhistorical
undocumented
theoretical
chimerical
invented
made-up
exaggerated
mythic
fantastical
imagined
nonfactual
theoretic
pretend
make-believe
unsupportable
chimeric
fabulous
embroidered
fantastic
nondocumentary
insupportable

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

historical
true
factual
literal
actual
real
objective
authentic
hard
documentary
genuine
nonfictional
bona fide
matter-of-fact
right
documented
established

Synonym Chooser

Some common synonyms of apocryphal are fabulous, fictitious, legendary, and mythical. While all these words mean "having the nature of something imagined or invented," apocryphal implies an unknown or dubious source or origin or may imply that the thing itself is dubious or inaccurate.

a book that repeats many apocryphal stories

In some situations, the words fabulous and apocryphal are roughly equivalent. However, fabulous stresses the marvelous or incredible character of something without necessarily implying impossibility or actual nonexistence.

a land of fabulous riches

The synonyms fictitious and apocryphal are sometimes interchangeable, but fictitious implies fabrication and suggests artificiality or contrivance more than deliberate falsification or deception.

fictitious characters

The words legendary and apocryphal are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, legendary suggests the elaboration of invented details and distortion of historical facts produced by popular tradition.

the legendary exploits of Davy Crockett

The meanings of mythical and apocryphal largely overlap; however, mythical implies a purely fanciful explanation of facts or the creation of beings and events out of the imagination.

mythical creatures

单词	apocryphal
释义	apocryphal adjective apoc·ry·phal ə-ˈpä-krə-fəl 1 : of doubtful authenticity : spurious an apocryphal story about George Washington 2 often capitalized : of or resembling the Apocrypha Apocryphal books of the Old Testament apocryphally ə-ˈpä-krə-fə-lē adverb apocryphalness noun Did you know? In Bible study, the term Apocrypha refers to sections of the Bible that are not sanctioned as belonging to certain official canons. In some Protestant versions, these sections appear between the Old and New Testaments. More generally, the word refers to writings or statements whose purported origin is in doubt. Consequently, the adjective apocryphal describes things like legends and anecdotes that are purported to be true by way of repeated tellings but that have never been proven or verified and, therefore, most likely are not factual. Both apocrypha and apocryphal derive, via Latin, from the Greek verbal adjective apokrýptein, meaning "to hide (from), keep hidden (from)," from krýptein ("to conceal, hide"). Example Sentences During these men's professional lives, Wall Street has become accustomed to getting what it wants from Washington. America's top bankers have an even longer history of not giving a hoot what the public thinks. Sample (possibly apocryphal) quote from the original J.P. Morgan: " I owe the public nothing." Daniel Gross, Newsweek, 23 Feb. 2009 True or apocryphal, the story of the invention of the fried Ipswich clam—Mr. Woodman, faced with a huge vat of hot oil for his potato chips and a mess of clams harvested from the mud flats of his home town, reportedly had a eureka moment—is unabashed gospel for lovers of this regional specialty. Nancy Harmon Jenkins, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2002 There is a story, perhaps apocryphal, about Leonard Bernstein and tax returns. On the line that asked him to list his profession, Bernstein didn't write "conductor" or "composer," or "pianist," or "teacher." He simply wrote, "musician." Bari Walsh, Bostonia, Winter 2000-2001 an apocryphal story about the president's childhood Recent Examples on the Web Some of her detractors spread the perhaps apocryphal story that Ms. Newton-John, on a visit to the country music capital, was excited to meet Hank Williams, the country legend who had been in his grave for 20 years. Adam Bernstein, Washington Post, 8 Aug. 2022 One charming, if perhaps apocryphal, story claims that the first person to paddle out was none other than Duke Kahanamoku, in 1912. The New Yorker, 29 July 2022 Then there were the apocryphal stories about the money, ones that ran around the junior staff. Jamie Fewery, Harper’s Magazine , 22 June 2022 An apocryphal book of the Bible recounts the time Satan attempted to destroy the world’s original woman so that the human race would be unable to multiply. Pat Myers, Washington Post, 14 July 2022 The Ty Herndon story, the way it's told in Nashville, is almost apocryphal. Jason Sheeler, PEOPLE.com, 17 June 2022 The Twilight World begins with one of Herzog’s favorite framing devices: a possibly apocryphal story involving himself. Ryu Spaeth, The New Republic, 2 June 2022 Phillips named her book for a (probably apocryphal) story about Neel as a young mother. Hillary Kelly, The Atlantic, 8 May 2022 William Howard Taft, too often reduced to an apocryphal story of getting stuck in the White House bathtub, served as chief justice of the Supreme Court. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Apr. 2022 See More Word History Etymology apocrypha + -al entry 1 First Known Use 1583, in the meaning defined at sense 1 apocryphal adjective as in unauthentic Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance unauthentic speculative hypothetical fanciful legendary mythical fictional unhistorical fictitious fictionalized imaginary nonhistorical undocumented theoretical chimerical invented made-up exaggerated mythic fantastical imagined nonfactual theoretic pretend make-believe unsupportable chimeric fabulous embroidered fantastic nondocumentary insupportable Antonyms & Near Antonyms historical true factual literal actual real objective authentic hard documentary genuine nonfictional bona fide matter-of-fact right documented established See More Synonym Chooser Some common synonyms of apocryphal are fabulous, fictitious, legendary, and mythical. While all these words mean "having the nature of something imagined or invented," apocryphal implies an unknown or dubious source or origin or may imply that the thing itself is dubious or inaccurate. a book that repeats many apocryphal stories In some situations, the words fabulous and apocryphal are roughly equivalent. However, fabulous stresses the marvelous or incredible character of something without necessarily implying impossibility or actual nonexistence. a land of fabulous riches The synonyms fictitious and apocryphal are sometimes interchangeable, but fictitious implies fabrication and suggests artificiality or contrivance more than deliberate falsification or deception. fictitious characters The words legendary and apocryphal are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, legendary suggests the elaboration of invented details and distortion of historical facts produced by popular tradition. the legendary exploits of Davy Crockett The meanings of mythical and apocryphal largely overlap; however, mythical implies a purely fanciful explanation of facts or the creation of beings and events out of the imagination. mythical creatures
随便看	oceaniae oceanian oceanians oceanias oceanic oceanic area oceanic bonito oceanic island oceanic white-tipped shark oceanic white-tipped sharks oceanic whitetip oceanic whitetip shark oceanic whitetip sharks oceanic whitetips oceanicae oceanicas oceanics Oceanid oceanides Oceanids oceanids oceaniteses oceanitesses oceanity oceanodromous

apocryphal

adjective

Did you know?

Example Sentences

Word History

adjective

Synonym Chooser