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
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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
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of spurious
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
Sixty years ago, in New York Times Company v. Sullivan, the Supreme Court crafted powerful protection from spurious libel suits.
—David W. Dunlap, New York Times, 22 Dec. 2024
Blocking the deal on spurious national security grounds would invite many far more realistic, adverse national security and economic consequences.
—Dan Ikenson, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
Los Angeles police officers responded to a spurious bomb threat at former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Brentwood mansion on Thanksgiving morning before giving the all-clear.
—Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 30 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for spurious 
Joshua Stein, Forbes, 25 Dec. 2024
Sixty years ago, in New York Times Company v. Sullivan, the Supreme Court crafted powerful protection from spurious libel suits.
—David W. Dunlap, New York Times, 22 Dec. 2024
Blocking the deal on spurious national security grounds would invite many far more realistic, adverse national security and economic consequences.
—Dan Ikenson, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
Los Angeles police officers responded to a spurious bomb threat at former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Brentwood mansion on Thanksgiving morning before giving the all-clear.
—Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 30 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for spurious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spurious
Adjective
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Criminals hide behind legitimate businesses on marketplaces and then filter money, which may or may not come from the sale of counterfeit items to human traffickers, drug cartels and terrorist groups.—
Fernando Castellanos,
Forbes,
10 Jan. 2025
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Action taken may include removing counterfeit listings and blocking accounts.—
Mia Sato,
The Verge,
19 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Of note: Your Content must not be false, defamatory, misleading or hateful, or infringe any copyright or any other third-party rights or otherwise be unlawful.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
19 Jan. 2025
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But instead of mounting a defense of free speech against a lawsuit and Trump’s accusations that the network said were false and completely without merit, Paramount is considering following the example of Disney and tech oligarchs who will line up at the inauguration like Mark Zuckerberg.—
Richard Lawler,
The Verge,
18 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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That period, in 2017, was defined by public demonstrations of resistance, a flurry of new liberal groups and a palpable anger over an election outcome many in the party saw as illegitimate.—
Reid J. Epstein,
New York Times,
24 Jan. 2025
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Teams with low absenteeism judge calling in sick for illegitimate reasons.—
Lieke ten Brummelhuis,
Forbes,
23 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The group’s stage show would double as something like a live-act pilot for a fake TV series.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
24 Jan. 2025
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The fake list contains a few different hyper-obscure characters that seem potentially unlikely to arrive.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes,
24 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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And a sandbar that had severed Topanga Lagoon from the Pacific Ocean had been swept away by high tides and an influx of water used for firefighting — an unnatural breach that could flush them into the surf.—
Lila Seidman,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Jan. 2025
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Their conversation is interspersed with other footage from the series, including the trademark brutal fight scenes—complete with bones breaking in various unnatural ways.—
Jennifer Ouellette,
Ars Technica,
15 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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He was arrested Wednesday and charged with second- and third-degree forgery and criminal possession of a forged Instrument.—
Muri Assunção,
New York Daily News,
12 Jan. 2025
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Mangione, 26, is currently charged with second-degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon, and criminal possession of a forged instrument in connection with Thompson's killing.—
Amanda Castro,
Newsweek,
12 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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One person that many pay attention to is Mel Kiper, who has been a mock draft extraordinaire for decades.—
Raul A. Reyes,
Newsweek,
22 Jan. 2025
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The following scenes are set in that show and tell the ogre's story through life-size wooden puppets complete with mock strings attached to their arms.—
Caroline Reid,
Forbes,
18 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Proponents of this theory point to Kennedy's strained relationship with the CIA after the Bay of Pigs blunder, as well as differences over how the U.S. should have approached Vietnam.—
Gordon G. Chang,
Newsweek,
24 Jan. 2025
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On top of all of this, Sirianni reportedly had a strained relationship with quarterback Jalen Hurts, something the two tried to hash out during the team’s bye week this season.—
Rohan Nadkarni,
NBC News,
23 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Spurious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spurious. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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