English Dictionary
Definition of “spurious”
spurious (ˈspjʊərɪəs
)
Definitions
adjective
- not genuine or real
- (of a plant part or organ) having the appearance of another part but differing from it in origin, development, or function; false ⇒
a spurious fruit
- (of radiation) produced at an undesired frequency by a transmitter, causing interference, etc
- rare illegitimate
Alternative Forms
ˈspuriously adverb ˈspuriousness noun Word Origin
C17: from Latin spurius of illegitimate birth
Synonyms
View thesaurus entry
=
false,
bogus,
sham,
pretended,
artificial,
forged,
fake,
mock,
imitation,
simulated,
contrived,
pseudo,
counterfeit,
feigned,
ersatz,
specious,
unauthentic phoney or phony
Usage examples
It certainly wasn't the spurious distress acted out on the night of their strange dinner together.
Meek, M R D, A Worm of Doubt (1987)In some patients, food allergies will have been diagnosed on the basis of investigations of spurious value - for example, kinesiology.
British Medical Journal (2002)A launch resulting from spurious information or a technical fault is a command-and-control problem.
Globe and Mail (2003)I don't think lawyers would be so quick to defend spurious asylum seekers if there was no guarantee of getting paid.
Sun, News of the World (2004)If this is borne in mind then cases of spurious independence are easy to spot.
Campion, Nicholas, The Book of World Horoscopes (1988)
