EN

Synonyms for spurious

  • adjective

Most common

false counterfeit bogus illegitimate misbegotten bastardly inauthentic

Synonyms by meaning

Adjective

1. False — false, not authentic, not genuine

false, counterfeit, bogus, illegitimate, apocryphal, fake, invalid, mendacious, fictitious, shoddy, factitious, make-believe, bad, artificial, deceitful, base, feigned, sham, forged, pretended, bastard, mock

2. Misbegotten — bastardly, illegitimate

misbegotten, bastardly, misbegot dated

3. Inauthentic

inauthentic, unauthentic, ersatz

Other

specious, natural, desultory

Antonyms

true, legitimate, genuine

All antonyms of spurious →

Definitions

  1. adj. 1

    False, not authentic, not genuine.

    His argument was spurious and had no validity.

  2. adj. 2

    Bastardly, illegitimate.

  3. adj. 3

    Extraneous, stray; not relevant or wanted.

    I tried to concentrate on the matter in hand, but spurious thoughts kept intruding.

Related words

Word family
spuriosity
Phrases
spurious language

Example sentences

  • bogus Sami opened a bank account with a bogus Egyptian ID.
  • illegitimate The king had numerous illegitimate children with her.
  • counterfeit Lots of things other than money can be counterfeit.
  • apocryphal Apocryphal stories are the most fun variety of bullshit.
  • specious Tom's arguments are entirely specious.
  • desultory Most of the others also lit their pipes and a desultory conversation ensued.

Popularity over time

Word1850 → 2019Trend
spuriousfalling
bogusrising
illegitimatesteady
counterfeitrising
apocryphalrising
speciousfalling

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters
bad1
4 letters
base1, fake1, mock1, sham1
5 letters
false1, bogus2
6 letters
forged1, shoddy2, ersatz2
7 letters
natural3, bastard2, invalid3, feigned1
8 letters
specious2, misbegot
9 letters
pretended3, deceitful3, desultory4, bastardly
10 letters
artificial4, fictitious3, apocryphal4, mendacious3, factitious3
11 letters
counterfeit3, inauthentic, misbegotten4, unauthentic4
12 letters
illegitimate5

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (bogus2 = 2 syllables).