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spurious

spurious

15 7.9
Not real or true, often made to seem true
  • adjective
  • /ˈspjʊəriəs/
: espurio
  • Thus, Cypriot modernity, according to tourists, is spurious, a second-rate version of the original.
  • spurious effect
  • spurious correlation
  • spurious association

Stories about people who are blinded by their own spurious convictions.

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Examples

  • Peter Novick's own contribution to the cover-up of his student's spurious scholarship casts additional light on his standards.

    Academic text (1995)
  • "Colonel Martin invited me to discuss my concerns about the spurious evangelist."

    Fiction book (1990)
  • I think the church demonstrated that it has a spurious relationship with justice as well.

  • Several additional variables are included in the analysis to control for spurious relationships.

    Academic text (1990)
  • In times of great uncertainty people will turn to more spurious or more narrative based solutions.

  • Many of the studies I reviewed demonstrated weak research methods, which may have produced spurious findings.

    Academic text (1999)
  • In both of these cases, the correlation approach could result in a spurious finding of market integration.

    Academic text (1991)
  • The accusations against my niece are all spurious lies.

  • Dreyfus was disgraced in public and jailed on spurious evidence.

  • The scientist's claims were dismissed as spurious after it was proven he manipulated the data.

Synonyms

fake
vsspurious
939 1.8

Not real and made to look like something real

covers general lack of genuineness beyond physical copies
phony
vsspurious
  • Informal
202 5.3

Trying to seem real to deceive people

is the general adjective for not genuine without technical tone
false
vsspurious
155 2.8

Not real and made to trick people

is the general label for things not genuine without stressing action
bogus
vsspurious
141 5.6

Fake and made to trick people

is the neutral adjective for lack of authenticity
faux
vsspurious
65 7.5

Not real but made to look like something real to copy it

is the basic word for something that is not genuinely real
counterfeit
vsspurious
64 6.7

Made to look like the real thing to trick people

is broader applying to any not genuine item not only copies
forged
vsspurious
  • NSFW
26 5.1

Made to look real to trick people

is the wider adjective for lack of genuineness not limited to copies
specious
vsspurious
  • Formal
15 8.7

Appearing true but actually wrong

focuses on plain falseness rather than seeming truth
inauthentic
vsspurious
6 6.6

Not real and not what it looks like

is a concise term for general lack of genuineness
unauthentic
vsspurious
1 7.4

Not real or true

is the equivalent one-word term expressing the same idea
non-authentic
vsspurious
1 5.6

An object that is not real or original and is often a fake

is the single-word alternative used for the same meaning
supposititious
vsspurious
  • Formal
1 9.9

Presented as real but actually fake

is the broad adjective for lacking true authenticity

Antonyms

∞ 1.0

Correct and in agreement with the facts

240 2.0

Real and not fake, for example about art or goods

236 3.8

Something that is real and trustworthy, not a fake

Compounds

spurious correlation
  • Specialized
1 8.7

A link between two things that looks like one causes the other but a third thing causes both

spurious wing
  • Specialized
9.1

A small group of stiff feathers on a bird's thumb that helps control flight

How False

counterfeit
64 6.7
bogus
141 5.6
spurious
15 7.9
questionable
162 3.9

Surface Forms

spurious positive

Etymology

Spurious comes from the old Latin word spurius, which meant 'illegitimate' or not a true child. That's why spurious today describes something 'not genuine' or false.