1
as in counterfeit
being such in appearance only and made or manufactured with the intention of committing fraud
a spurious Picasso painting that wouldn't have fooled an art expert for a second
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in false
lacking in natural or spontaneous quality
claimed that the governor's election-year enthusiasm for conservation was spurious, since he had cut funding for state parks
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in illegitimate
born to a father and mother who are not married
the spurious son of Charles II, the Duke of Monmouth would later mount a rebellion in a disastrous attempt to claim the throne
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spurious
But other times, insurance companies deny claims after inadequate investigations or for spurious reasons.
—
Jay Feinman, The Conversation, 6 Jan. 2025
This cannot be waved away by the spurious notion that Joe Biden and the U.S. Justice Department is retaliating against Adams’ legitimate criticism of Biden’s poor management of the migrant crisis.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 4 Jan. 2025
This stood in contrast to the spurious but widely held belief that swallows hibernated during winter months.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 21 Dec. 2024
Elements of the process that just create spurious issues or slow things down might turn out to be unnecessary if the approving authority had to pay for them.
—Joshua Stein, Forbes, 25 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for spurious
Jay Feinman, The Conversation, 6 Jan. 2025
This cannot be waved away by the spurious notion that Joe Biden and the U.S. Justice Department is retaliating against Adams’ legitimate criticism of Biden’s poor management of the migrant crisis.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 4 Jan. 2025
This stood in contrast to the spurious but widely held belief that swallows hibernated during winter months.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 21 Dec. 2024
Elements of the process that just create spurious issues or slow things down might turn out to be unnecessary if the approving authority had to pay for them.
—Joshua Stein, Forbes, 25 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for spurious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spurious
Adjective
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Shabbir Safdar, the executive director of The Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM), a coalition of 45 nonprofit groups working against the counterfeit drug trade, said that international cooperation is needed to combat these websites including by locking domain names based in other countries.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
15 Feb. 2025
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The European Commission cited a need to ensure product safety in imports, stop counterfeit goods and prevent unfair competition.—
Keith Bradsher,
New York Times,
14 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Post misconstrues video of Trump at Gabbard's swearing-in ceremony The Threads post appeared to draw a false conclusion from Salcedo's remarks about not seeing Gabbard being sworn in during the Feb. 12 edition of his program.—
Andre Byik,
USA TODAY,
25 Feb. 2025
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In 2018, McFarland was sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of wire fraud, bank fraud and making false statements to federal law enforcement, the US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York confirmed to CNN at the time.—
Alli Rosenbloom,
CNN,
24 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Meszaros is widely regarded by Hungarians as the purse of Orban: someone who is not a real owner but who simply manages the illegitimate wealth of his boss.—
BÁLINT MADLOVICS,
Foreign Affairs,
10 Feb. 2025
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Moscow has long sought to discredit the Ukrainian government by claiming that Zelensky is an illegitimate president, although martial law prohibits elections during wartime for safety reasons.—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
3 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Here are the best fake car ads and parodies celebrating SNL's 50th anniversary.—
Betty Lin-Fisher,
USA TODAY,
18 Feb. 2025
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Read More: The 22 Most Controversial Saturday Night Live Moments Best Ad Break Over the show’s five decades, SNL has created ads for some memorably fake products.—
Melissa Locker,
TIME,
17 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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While there are certainly products that can be used across different hair textures, lengths, curl patterns, thicknesses, colors (natural and unnatural), and needs, hair products are often created with specific consumers in mind.—
Christa Joanna Lee,
Allure,
16 Feb. 2025
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And yet all of the actors must plow through dialogue that is bracingly unnatural.—
Esther Zuckerman,
IndieWire,
27 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Being caught with a fake means risking anything from a simple fine to a charge of criminal possession of a forged instrument, necessitating a lawyer and several court appearances.—
Kaja Andric,
New York Times,
13 Feb. 2025
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Mangione is also charged with using a forged instrument to deceive or injure another person.—
Aysha Bagchi,
USA TODAY,
18 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The response was made all the more pronounced by Lively’s mock shock look at her husband.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
16 Feb. 2025
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Thomas leapt out of his judges’ chair and mock knelt in front of Carter.—
Marcus Thompson II,
The Athletic,
15 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The consequences are often deeply personal: sleepless nights, strained relationships and a constant sense of unease about who’s watching.—
Chad Angle,
Forbes,
18 Feb. 2025
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The Sea Lions should get deeper before the playoffs with the return of 6-8 senior forward Wynton Brown, who has missed most of the past two weeks with a strained elbow ligament.—
Bill Center,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
18 Feb. 2025
Articles Related to spurious
Cite this Entry
“Spurious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spurious. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.
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